The Washington Post controversially marked the passing of noted North Carolina conservative Jesse Helms with a rerun of an article it first published in August 29, 2001, one week after Helms announced his retirement from the Senate.

The article by David S. Broder damns the five-term former North Carolina senator, by referring to him as an unreconstructed white racist. Helms died Friday in Raleigh, N.C. from an undisclosed illness after years of failing health.

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. [source]

The article reminds readers that Helms is probably most famous during his for his opposition to Civil Rights Bills giving African Americans equal rights, and claimed Helms never recanted from this position.

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. [source]