Liddy Dole Has a Place in Hell
Yea, I nearly lost my cookies this morn’ reading Joe My God via Atomic Gay Wonk. Turns out Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) wants to rename the current AIDS relief bill after Jesse Helms. That is strike the late lawmaker Henry Hyde’s name from an AIDS bill before the Senate and replace it with that of the (now dead, thank God Satan took ya’) homophobic Republican Senator Jesse Helms. Way to go Liddy, you’ve now secured your place in hell, right between Jerry Falwell and the guy who invented aluminum siding. Nearly speechless really, how can this woman sleep at night? Can’t say it any better than Joe:
“Jesse Helms, the man who in 2002 announced that he’d changed his mind about AIDS funding for Africa, but not for American gays, because homosexuality “is the primary cause of the doubling and redoubling of AIDS cases in the United States. Many people hold Ronald Reagan responsible for adding to the early AIDS death toll by his inaction on the pandemic, but it was Helms’ actions in thwarting early research that inarguably hastened the demise of many thousands of Americans. How many of my friends, of your friends, would be alive today if the life-saving medications had arrived just one fucking year earlier?”
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Oh Hell no. I am a native North Carolinian and have been living with the virus since my senior year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (18 years). While in school, I made a promise to all my friends that I would outlive Senator Helms and throw a party upon his death. On July 4th, I was flooded with calls from friends far and wide, excited to tell me the news. I have already forgiven Senator Helms and told my friends to let him do the same. I will not, however, let an AIDS bill be named after him. I wrote to Senator Dole before writing this.
Hell, let’s just let bygones be bygones and add Jesse Helms’ name to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, too. So what if he was a race-baiting separatist? It’s time this great man got his due.
Just a clarification, Dole doesn’t want to remove Hyde’s name from the bill, simply add Helms’ name afterwards.
Here’s what I wrote to Dole prior to commenting here.
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Ma’am,
I read with concern your desire to include the name of the recently deceased Jesse Helms into S. 2731 (your proposal SA 5074). As a native North Carolinian, I cannot begin to describe my horror at attaching the name of Helms to this bill. His vehement ignorance at the root causes of the AIDS/HIV epidemic, not to mention blatant misrepresentation of the medical science behind its transfer, leads one to wonder what exactly you were trying to do with this motion.
If your desire is to honor him, perhaps you can start by bridging the information gap that seems to exist regarding the humanity of humans who are suffering with AIDS in America. Maybe work towards more humane immigration policies so that recent generations who have lived under South and Central American juntas could come to the United States to buid a better life.
It baffles me, ma’am, as to why exactly you would make yourself the laughingstock of most everyone who has been following politics in the United States over the past 30 years by attempting to attach the name of Jesse Helms to such legislation. Whoever advised you to do that should likely be made redundant from your staff. And, if perchance it was your own idea, I’d wager a bet to say that it’s gone a long way towards your Senate position being made redundant come November.
Regards,
KJ Garner
Brilliant KJ!
And hooray, Dole did not succeed with this!
On another list I’m on, someone asked if this wasn’t Dole’s attempt to santorum Helms’ name by attaching it to this bill. My comment to that was that Dole is the type of politico who would eat Helms’ santorum for communion.
What she did was so sick and wrong.