Good Riddance, Jesse.

Our nation's been waiting with bated breath for years. But, at long last -- Happy B-day, America! -- Sen. Jesse Helms has shuffled off this mortal coil. (1921-2008) "Ed Feulner, president of conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, hailed Helms as 'one of the most consequential figures of the 20th century.' 'Along with Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, he helped establish the conservative movement and became a powerful voice for free markets and free people,' Feulner wrote."

Um, yeah. As with Strom's passing in 2003, it's worth rereading Hunter S. Thompson's Nixon obit right about now. "I beat him like a mad dog with mange every time I got a chance, and I am proud of it. He was scum. Let there be no mistake in the history books about that. Richard Nixon was an evil man...Some people will say that words like scum and rotten are wrong for Objective Journalism -- which is true, but they miss the point. It was the built-in blind spots of the Objective rules and dogma that allowed Nixon to slither into the White House in the first place."

Same goes for Helms and the Senate. If, God forbid, the media roll over as they did at Helms' retirement and try to "Russert-ize" Helms now that the racist, homophobic bastard is finally gone, remember this: He was the worst kind of racebaiting scum and the worst kind of hypocrite. He camouflaged his divisive hatred by slathering it in fake, aw-shucks populism. And he spent his career serving the dictates of the wealthiest and screwing over the good people of North Carolina, white and black. Our nation is a brighter place with his passing. [Helms photo via here.]