Helms basks in grand farewell

U.S. senators lavish praise, gratitude on their longtime colleague

WASHINGTON -- For more than two hours Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms was lionized by his colleagues as a man of courage and purpose.

Scripture was invoked to describe the North Carolina Republican's strength.

He was touted as the consummate Southern gentleman, credited with ushering in the Reagan revolution and lauded for never wavering in his conservative convictions.

By the time it was all over, the praise had been laid on so thick that even the 80-year-old senator felt compelled to quip, "I've been sitting at this desk wondering who on earth this Helms guy is."

All the kind words were part of a traditional send-off given to departing members in the closing days of their service.

As Helms sat in the Senate chamber Wednesday morning, he was serenaded by a parade of 18 colleagues who reminisced about the past 30 years during which Helms became a national figure beloved by some and reviled by others.

"Jesse, I love you," said Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, one of three Democrats who took part. "I think you're dead wrong on the issues, ... but I'm going to miss you being here."

The tribute was supposed to last only one hour, but it stretched into two as senators continued to stream in and out of the chamber to say their part and offer a handshake or a hug.

The proceedings might have gone longer but for a resolution on Iraq that was hustled to the floor after a bipartisan deal was cut Wednesday morning. Helms, meanwhile, was whisked off to the White House soon after for a meeting of top lawmakers with the president.

Throughout the morning, there were no more than veiled references to many of the high-profile controversies in which Helms has been involved over the years, on issues such as race relations and AIDS funding.

During his remarks, Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott ticked off a laundry list of issues on which he said Helms' views might have seemed out of step at first but are "now the mainstream in American political thought." Among them: smaller government, lower taxes, opposition to abortion and "an American-centered foreign policy."

"To many of us, Jesse Helms is a hero of almost mythic proportions," said Lott, a Mississippi Republican, adding, "Jesse Helms transcends his times. He is the senator's senator."

When Lott finished speaking, Helms, looking thin after his recent prolonged recovery from heart surgery, saluted Lott from his desk. He remained seated with his chief of staff, Jimmy Broughton, throughout most of the proceedings.

Helms' Democratic colleague from North Carolina, Sen. John Edwards, was more contained in his praise of Helms than some. But Edwards lauded Helms for his office's constituency work and said Helms had "an extraordinary group of people working with him."

"You can't hardly move in North Carolina without touching people who Senator Helms has touched over the time he's been in the Senate," Edwards said. "The people of North Carolina will never forget the work and the kindness and the personal attention that he has given to them. He's been a relentless advocate for the people of our state."

Several senators said that the Helms they know differs from the way he is often portrayed in the media.

"It really is a shame that all Americans don't know you personally," said Sen. Bob Smith, a New Hampshire Republican, adding that "there's not a more decent human being" in the Senate.

Like several others, Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said Helms succeeded in Washington because he didn't compromise his principles.

"There's an enormous temptation once you come here to try to please your critics," McConnell said. "Senator Helms has resisted that temptation."

Some of the longer-serving senators showed signs of emotion as they bid a public farewell to a longtime friend and his wife, Dorothy, who watched the proceedings from the Senate gallery.

Sen. Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat, reflected upon being born in North Carolina himself and burying his parents there. He called Helms "a true gentleman of the Old South."

"When Jesse Helms goes, something goes out of the Senate that we won't see again," Byrd said.

Helms had prepared a speech to read to his colleagues -- but time didn't permit him to deliver it.

According to a copy of his remarks, he planned to close with this: "I thank the chair, I thank my colleagues, and I thank the people of North Carolina for allowing me the honor of serving in the United States Senate."