The Washington Post decided to re-publish a piece David Broder wrote in August 2001 on the occasion of Jesse Helm’s retirement announcement. David Broder, more than any other Big Foot reporter in the country, can find reasons to excuse the behavior of almost any Republican. So, it’s saying something that he came out so strongly against Jesse Helms. Broder attacked the ‘pussyfooting’ of his press friends who refused to call Helms what he was:
What really sets Jesse Helms apart is that he is the last prominent unabashed white racist politician in this country — a title that one hopes will now be permanently retired. A few editorials and columns came close to saying that. But the squeamishness of much of the press in characterizing Helms for what he is suggests an unwillingness to confront the reality of race in our national life.
And Broder didn’t mince words:
What is unique about Helms — and from my viewpoint, unforgivable — is his willingness to pick at the scab of the great wound of American history, the legacy of slavery and segregation, and to inflame racial resentment against African Americans…
…To the best of my knowledge, Helms has never done what the late George Wallace did well before his death — recant and apologize for his use of racial issues. And that use was blatant.
And Helms’ record on gay and lesbian rights was even worse than his record on race. But unlike the issue of race in America, Bono was able to convince Helms that the scope of the AIDS problem in Africa was so tremendous that something had to be done about it. Even so, it appeared that Helms could only be convinced to care about AIDS when it become indisputable that it was affecting a wider community than just gays, blacks, and drug addicts.
“It had been my feeling that AIDS was a disease largely spread by reckless and voluntary sexual and drug-abusing behavior, and that it would probably be confined to those in high-risk populations,” Mr. Helms said. “I was wrong.”
That might be the most insensitive apology on record. But it goes further than any apology he ever gave for his racism. For that, there never was any apology whatsoever.
