Holy shit... Jesse Helms and I have the same birthday!

I did not know that. But he's dead now, so that means I win.

It's funny, growing up in NC in the 80s and 90s, Jesse Helms pretty much was North Carolina. I only vaguely even remember his political campaigns and whatnot but his persona and opinions and, well, his 'essence' always struck me as an intolerant, archaic outmoded system of thought that vainly tried fight the onset of the future and couldn't handle the complexity of the changing reality of the world. And I never really cared for him, despite his late in life psuedo-mellowing and U2/Bono cred.

Though I do, in the increased cynicism of advancing age, find myself agreeing with his concept of smaller, more limited government. Though probably for radically different reasons.

And the story of him and his wife adopting a boy with cerebral palsy is touching, and more than enough to keep him from becoming only a caricature.

The Associated Press: Former Republican NC Sen. Jesse Helms dies at 86:

"Helms was a polarizing figure, both at home and in Washington. He delighted in forcing roll-call votes that required Democrats to take politically difficult votes on federal funding for art he deemed pornographic, school busing, flag-burning and other cultural issues. Among his first forays into politics was working in 1950 to elect segregationist candidate Willis Smith to the Senate, and he later fought against much of the civil rights movement.

In 1993, when then-President Clinton sought confirmation for an openly homosexual assistant secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Helms registered his disgust. 'I'm not going to put a lesbian in a position like that,' he said in a newspaper interview at the time. 'If you want to call me a bigot, fine.'

...But Helms wasn't entirely inflexible, especially in his later years in the Senate, where he worked with Democrats to restructure the foreign policy bureaucracy and pay back debts to the United Nations, an organization he disdained for most of his career. After years of clashes with gay activists, he softened his views on AIDS and advocated greater federal funding to fight the disease in Africa and elsewhere overseas, and in doing so, struck up an enduring and unlikely friendship with U2 frontman Bono.

"There was trouble in my band for even having the meeting with the senator," Bono said in a 2008 documentary, recalling the objections of his bandmate, Edge. "And I said, 'It's worse than that, Edge. He's coming to the gig.' He said, 'There's no way Jesse Helms is coming to the U2 show and I said, 'He is.'"

...Helms was born in Monroe on Oct. 18, 1921...

...Helms and his wife, Dorothy, had two daughters and a son. They adopted the boy in 1962 after the child, 9 years old and suffering from cerebral palsy, said in a newspaper article that he wanted parents. That story stood out for Dole and others Friday, as they said that for all of Helms' political bombast, he should be remembered first as a considerate and compassionate person."

But on the other hand, he could be a real asshole. To wit:

The Associated Press: Jesse Helms quotes on life and politics:

"'To rob the Negro of his reputation of thinking through a problem in his own fashion is about the same as trying to pretend that he doesn't have a natural instinct for rhythm and for singing and dancing.' — Helms responding in 1956 to criticism that a fictional black character in his newspaper column was offensive."