Jesse Helms’ brain now works for McCain
The late Jesse Helms famously ran a racist commercial against a black political opponent in 1990.
On the television commercial, the camera zones in on a white man’s hands, crumpling what apparently is a job rejection letter. The announcer then intones: ‘You needed that job and you were the best qualified. But they had to give it to a minority because of a racial quota. Is that really fair?’
Those darn minorities, taking jobs from white boys. This would be, or should be, the lead in Jesse Helms’ obituary, just a shameful footnote in history. But the guy who wrote the ad, Charlie Black, is now chief strategist for John McCain. Who would have thought McCain would turn a blind eye to racism?
Update: FAIR has a much more thorough list of some of Helms’ unrepentant racist and homophobic remarks, by no means all ancient history.