FROM: Jerry Falwell DATE: August 23, 2001
JESSE HELMS, AN AMERICAN LEGEND, WILL NOT SEEK RE-ELECTION
Citing age, family and health reasons, Sen. Jesse Helms, 79 has decided not to run for a sixth term in the 2002 elections. I consider Sen. Helms to be a national treasure. In my lifetime, I have not known a political leader with stronger convictions, more impeccable character and of more value to the pro-family and the pro-life cause. My wife, Macel, and I have long considered Jesse and Dorothy Helms as extended family.
The announcement by North Carolina's senior senator set off a buzz of speculation as to who his successor might be. Several prominent Republicans being considered include North Carolina native and former Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole and former senator and Helms ally, Lauch Faircloth. One Democrat, N.C. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall has already announced her intentions to enter the race. Longtime Helms adversary and former Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt said he would not seek Helms seat.
Conservatives across the nation described Helms as "irreplaceable." Former Wyoming Republican Sen. Malcolm Wallop said Helms loss will "take the salt off the conservative potatoes."
Calling Helms "a true gentleman", President George Bush said Helms is "a tireless defender of our nation's freedom and a champion of democracy abroad."
Jesse Helms is a man I am proud to call my friend. More than any other U.S. Senator in my memory, he has stood true to conservative values, the Judeo-Christian ethic and the ideals of our Founding Fathers. A committed Christian, Sen. Helms has stood strong - sometimes completely alone - against an onslaught of liberalism, since his election to the Senate in 1972.
Sen. Helms has championed the conservative cause tirelessly, even during the times when it was not popular. He is the one man that could be counted on to take the right position on every issue whether it was voluntary prayer in public schools, the defense of unborn life, the homosexual agenda, the Panama Canal treaties, the Soviet Union, the National Endowment for the Arts, the United Nations, national defense, Israel, Castro's Cuba, Red China, and the list goes on and on.
I want to blend my voice with conservatives from across the nation in saying that Sen. Helms will be sorely missed in 2003. I urge all my friends to join me in prayer that God will raise up a man or woman that will be able to follow in the footsteps of this great American. As I often tell the students here at Liberty University, the mantle is now being handed down. Jesse Helms, like Billy Graham, represents a generation that is passing from the scene and must be replaced by young people who will be willing to take a strong stand for biblical and traditional family values.
CALLING A NATION TO REVIVAL
Several weeks ago, I began a tour of 100 U.S. cities in an effort to spur revival in our land and motivate thousands of Christians to become the "salt" that preserves America's traditional Judeo- Christian ethic. After visiting just a few cities, the response has been tremendous. Dozens have received Christ as their Savior. Others have said they want to join me in "confronting the culture" of sin and immorality that seems to have engulfed our nation.
At each meeting, we are also distributing hundreds of Confront the Culture National Issue Surveys for those present and their friends and co-workers. It is my belief that the American people are being repeatedly lied to by the liberal media as to issues like abortion, homosexuality, a national missile defense, taxes, religious freedom and others. I intend to distribute one million or more of these surveys and make the results known to the Congress, the White House and the nation.
In a few days, I will be asking my Falwell Confidential friends to participate in a special online version of our Confront the Culture National Issues Survey. Please look for a special e-mail message from me regarding this important effort.
Until a generation ago, America was known as a Christian nation. But in the last 35-40 years we have experienced moral and spiritual disintegration unparalleled, which has resulted in moral and institutional collapse. Unless God's people act quickly following the principles of II Chronicles 7:14, in a few years, the America we know today - one nation under God - may cease to exist.