Jesse Helms RI... Something

I went to my small-town Fourth of July parade today and had some good-ole American fun. Then I learned about the demise of Jesse Helms, and thought that if anybody didn't deserve to die on July 4th, it was this guy. What a buzzkill.

For some reason, NPR ran this piece that explained how Helms "used race effectively." I know the guy just died, but do we have to be that euphemistic? Helms was a racist. He used racial appeals just effectively enough to eke out electoral victories in North Carolina (he never got more than 54% of the vote), and without them he would have had no identity. Can we just call this like it is?

Personally, I think the guy passed before having to endure a biracial President. And it would be quite something if the state that elected Jesse Helms for 30 years ended up choosing Barack Obama in November.