Honest question - is being a racist the worst thing in the world? That's the line most of us have been fed since childhood, but we're all human beings and we're all flawed. Is being a racist so bad that your life's work cannot be viewed in a net positive sense if you are a racist? I don't think so, but from what I've seen in these threads is that the "racists" are immediately branded as beyond redemption, sometimes ahead of convicted criminals and corrupt/inept lawmakers.
No- hence why many democrats/Republicans came to accept people like Bryd, and even Thurmond for moderating their views over the year. There's a difference between supporting segregation in the 60's, and being a poisonous turd like Helms.
Supporting Apartheid South Afirca, Rhodesia, Opposing Martin Luther King Day and his entire efforts to stop HIV/AIDs funding shows that Helms was awful.
Huge supporter of the tobacco industry as well.
Poll
