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America's Most Unwanted Politician
Jesse Helms Is Coming to Atlanta. On
October 12; see page 2 of this issue for
details of his visit and the protests that are
planned. We encourage your participation
in that protest. If you're not convinced that
the presence of this man in Atlanta is an
insult worth protesting, please review the
facts below.
If that information doesn't set your feet
to moving towards Peachtree Street on
October 12, perhaps it will encourage you
to call your friends and relatives who are
residents of North Carolina. Make sure that
they intend to vote and that they intend to
vote for Gantt.
If, Goddess forbid, they intend to vote
for Helms, please recite the information
below to them. If that doesn't work offer a
bribe; perhaps a trip to Atlanta on
November 6.
dren. He also voted to prohibit federal
funding by the National Endowment for
the Arts for works deemed "homoerotic".
And, he voted against a bill to require the
FBI to keep hate crimes statistics because
the bill included "sexual orientation", along
with race, religion, etc.
On AIDS: Helms has repeatedly voted
down legislation which would benefit those
suffering from AIDS. For instance, he
voted to prohibit AIDS educational materi
als that "promote homosexuality" as "nor
mal", "natural", or "healthy". He also voted
against emergency supplemental funding to
continue to provide the anti-AIDS drug
AZT to needy Americans with AIDS. And,
he voted for mandatory testing for HIV
antibody for all marriage license appli
cants, all immigrants, and all drug/sex
offenders.
times against funds to implement the Clean
Water Act; and against the clean-up of
water treatment plants. He, also, has pub
licly supported off-shore oil drilling along
North Carolina's coast.
On Education: Helms voted to cut the
Education Appropriation Bill by $400
million at a time when NC's SAT scores are
the lowest in the nation. Helms was the
only Senator to vote against reauthorizing
student and college financial aid through
1991. He voted against the Educational
Excellence Act of 1990; the Elementary
Education Improvement Act; and the
Future Teachers Training Corps Fellowship
Program. And, Helms received a zero rat
ing from the National Educational
Association in 1985, '86, '87, '88, and '89.
On Jobs & Business: Helms was the
only Senator to vote against the 1988
Jesse Helms' Words
On Civil Rights: "The civil-rights
movement, as Dr. King calls it, has had an
uncommon number of moral degenerates
leading the parade. Bayard Rustin, who
directed the 'March on Washington' in
1963, is a self-confessed homosexual who
served time in jail for a sordid offense.
James Baldwin, the Negro author and
widely advertised authority on civil rights,
cannot get his mind out of the sewer, if one
may judge from his literary efforts."
(WRAL Viewpoint, 4/1/65)
On Martin Luther King, Jr.: "[He
was] a man who courted violence and
nightriding and broke the law to achieve
his purposes; who found it expedient open
ly to collaborate with totalitarian
Communism; and whose personal life was
■■
Jesse Helms and Robert Mapplethorpe. The homophobic senator from N.C. has consistently stalled voted against numerous bills that would have improved or prolonged the
lives of people with AIDS. He found some of Mapplethorpe's photographs obscene and precipitated a false crisis which almost destroyed the National Endowment for the Arts.
Mapplethorpe, who died of AIDS, continues to support both the arts and AIDS research through bequests from his estate. You decide which man's work is really obscene.
. Harvey Gantt is a principled, experi
enced man who is committed to equal
rights for all. He is on record supporting a
woman's right to choose, equality for les
bians and gay men and a host of other
issues that reflect government in service of
its people rather than Helms' perversion of
that ideal. At this writing he and Helms are
neck and neck in the polls; Gantt can win
but he needs your help. So call those Tar
Heel friends. And send some money to
North Carolina Senate Vote 90, 604 W.
Chapel Hill Street, Durham, NC 27701 OR
Harvey Gantt for United States Senate,
P.O. Box 32726, Charlotte, NC 28232.
Help defeat Jesse Helms here and in his
home state.
Jesse Helms Voting Record
On Lesbian and Gay Issues: Helms
recent voting record has been unbelievably
callous toward lesbian/gay citizens. He
voted to exempt certain institutions in the
District of Columbia from barring discrimi
nation on the basis of sexual orientation
and to override preestablished policy in
D.C. barring discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation as it applies to lesbian
and gay volunteers who work with chil-
On Civil Rights: Helms voted against
a federal holiday honoring Martin Luther
King, Jr.; against cutting costs on federally
subsidized housing for the elderly; and to
permit federally funded hospitals to refuse
to perform abortions on poor women. On
top of that, he voted against reparations for
Japanese-Americans interned in WW II.
And, he voted against over-riding a Reagan
veto of the Civil Rights Restoration Bill.
On Justice: Helms voted to confirm
Robert Bork as a Supreme Court Justice. In
addition, he voted to send military aid to
the Nicaraguan Contras.
Not only does Helms have a question
able voting record on lesbian/gay and civil
rights issues; but, according to North
Carolina's Senate Vote 90, he also has a
questionable record on environmental, edu
cational, job/business, and family value
issues.
On Environment: Helms was one of
only 11 Senators to vote against the Clean
Air Act of 1990. He supports clear-cutting
of timber and got western N.C.'s National
Forests removed from a national experi
ment to eliminate below-cost timber sales.
As well, he voted three times against the
clean-up of toxic waste dumps; at least five
Welfare Overhaul Act (aimed at training
and job placement to get people off wel
fare). He voted against 60-day employee
notification for plant closings and layoffs.
He as well voted to cut 140,000 teenagers
out of a summer program that was proven
to reduce crime, reduce substance abuse,
and improve academic performance.
On Family: Helms was the only
Senator to vote against the Better Child
Care Act of 1989. He voted against the
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1990,
which guarantees unpaid leave for new par
ents and workers with family medical
issues. He voted against increasing funds
for the successful Women, Infants,
Children Nutrition Program at a time when
North Carolina has the highest infant mor
tality rate in the nation. And, finally, Helms
supports a Constitutional Amendment to
deny women the right to choose whether or
not to have an abortion, even in cases of
rape and incest.
Helms' record clearly demonstrates
his disregard for women, children, the
environment, lesbians, gays, education,
racial minorities and freedom of expres
sion. He is truly America's "Most
Unwanted Politician."
so revolting that it cannot be discussed."
(The Review of the News, 11/30/83)
On Homosexuality: "I view it as some
thing of a nightmare that the Sodomites are
so brazen...These obnoxious, repulsive
people are anything but 'gay.'"
(Time, 5/30/88)
On AIDS: "Advocating condom use
has accomplished one thing...It has put
this Government's stamp of approval on the
anti-Christian ideals of the sexual revolu
tion, a revolution that can be credited with
family breakups, rising abortions, rising
out-of-wedlock births, rising VD rates, and
rising school dropout rates."
(Congressional Record, 1/25/89)
On Art: "I don't even acknowledge the
fellow who did it [a work Helms did not
like] was an artist. I think he was a jerk."
(New York Times, 7/21/89)
On Abortion: "I believe abortion is
wrong. It is terribly wrong to kill these
children in order to serve the convenience
of those who may not want them around. In
a word, it is murder-and no other face can
be put upon it."
(Human Events, 9/13/75)
Southern Voice/October 11, 1990