Matt Gunterman July 8th, 2008

DMKY’s very own Cliff Schecter, who recently penned a best-selling book on that Old Fart running for president under the GOP banner, has a piece in The Guardian (UK) today that follows the trail from the wicked, evil ideology of Jesse Helmes (R-Hell) and the equally wicked, evil ideology of Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (like the sort of ideology where, if your grandmother’s dead, then she can’t be a “burden” to Medicare; that’s the grand vision of Mitch McConnell for you).

The toxic legacy of Jesse Helms
His notorious race-baiting and Red-bashing political campaigns molded the modern Republican party

It is almost fitting that Senator Jesse Helms - longtime US Senator from North Carolina, onetime right-wing political commentator and a constant conservative voice on both domestic and foreign policy issues in American politics for the past half decade - passed away during an election year that may indeed see the demise of the conservative coalition that he was a key player in building.

[...]

Jesse Helms may be gone. But if you follow politics, he cannot be forgotten. For every time Republicans win a state in a presidential election by placing a gay marriage ban on the ballot. Every time you hear a member or associate of the McCain campaign question Barack Obama’s patriotism. Every time Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConell sets a new record for obstruction by filibustering another bill. The presence of Jesse Alexander Helms on the American political stage can still be felt.

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• Mitch McConnell
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