Conservative Deathwatch Fave Jesse Helms Kicks It on 4th of July, Irony Not Lost On Us
|
Written by jay
|
|
Monday, 07 July 2008 02:53 |
Noted racist, homophobe, former U.S. Senator and self-described "redneck" Jesse Helms finally died this past Friday, in the wee hours of our great nation's Independence Day. We called this one back in February, but the stubborn old bastard hung on for a few months just so he could have the satisfaction of getting that July 4th date on his gravestone. (Here's hoping Andres Serrano makes a pilgrimage down to wherever he's buried, to piss on it.)
Helms bitterly fought against federal funding for AIDS research and treatment, claiming the disease resulted from "disgusting" and "unnatural" behavior. And he single-handedly caused the ruckus over the National Endowment for the Arts in the late 80s when he held Congressional hearings to protest funds going to artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe and Serrano, whose "Piss Christ" became a conservative rallying point against funding for the arts.
He did not retire from the Senate until 2003, and has spent the last several years convalescing with serious dementia. He was 86.
Now, if only Dick Cheney, Anita Bryant and Fred Phelps would kick it, we might actually have something to celebrate.
RELATED:
Soon They Will Be Dead: The William F. Buckley Jr. Memorial List of Conservatives We're Still Waiting on to Die
Japanese Book Browsers Soon to Be Staring Down Huge Black & White Penises
Jesse Helms Dies at 86; Conservative Force in the Senate (NY Times)
|
