Former N.C. Senator and conservative firebrand Jesse Helms dies on Independence Day. He was 86. :: WRAL.com

Former N.C. Senator and conservative firebrand Jesse Helms dies on Independence Day. He was 86. :: WRAL.com

Jesse Helms, rest in peace. You had the courage to call the shots as you saw them. That's an admirable quality. Agree or disagree one always knew where you stood. There have been some great liberals you can say the same thing about---Daniel Patrick Moynihan comes to mind. I suspect both of those great men are distressed by America's romance with political correctness. Both those men were staunch supporters of the First Amendment and what it meant. I wish the same were true today. Jim