COLUMN: 07-09-2008

The death of long-time US Senator Jesse Helms should serve as a reminder of what is right and what is wrong with the conservative movement in America. Despite liberals' fondest hopes that America is turning in their direction, this couldn't be further from the truth. America is a moderate conservative country and the only times the electorate in the last 50 years has turned away from conservatives are due to two primary reasons: corruption and fascism. Corruption will always cause people to turn away from those in power to the opposition, even if that opposition has views that can only be tolerated for a few years until the corruption within the conservative ranks is cleared out. Fascism is a much bigger problem when some so-called conservatives actually reveal their true colors. Senator Helms was an unfortunate example in this regard as he attempted to use unconstitutional mechanisms on several occasions to enforce his racist views as they declined in society as a whole. The biggest example in recent years has, of course, been the fascist undertones of nearly every Bush Administration national security policy since 9/11. Rather than defending freedom by showcasing it in our society, these cowards claim to defend freedom by destroying every constitutional freedom. From investigating any anti-war protesters who were simply exercising their freedoms of speech and assembly to investigating several religious groups due to pure racism and no actual evidence whatsoever to cause any suspicions, the trend has disgusted the American people as it has proved itself to be counterproductive and actually strengthened the enemy around the world. Senator Helms can be remembered fondly for his opposition to abortion and other liberal policies imposed on Americans, but we should not forget his overall record in terms of driving America away from our core values of freedom and equality for all.