Another Story from Politics

Watergate sunk Nixon. Jimmy Carter was elected. Two years later Jesse Helms ran for reelection. In 1972, he’d been the only Republican to win a Senate election in North Carolina in the 20th century. After sweeping statewide elections in 1974 and 1976 Democrats were on a roll. Here’s a story about Jesse’s 1978 campaign from my book.

*****

Tom Ellis – Jesse’s campaign chairman – ran head-on into a brick wall: Cold hard cash. He needed millions of dollars to beat a Democrat. Boarding an airplane he flew to Washington, sat down facing Richard Viguerie – a direct mail fundraising genius; fundraising letters rolled out, the world exploded; before the curtain fell on election night two years later two hundred thousand people – from Maine to California – sent twenty-five and fifty dollar contributions. When the smoke cleared we raised over seven million dollars which would be twenty-nine million dollars today.

Tom Ellis started out building an old-fashioned campaign, holding rallies, recruiting volunteers in neighborhoods, opening county headquarters.

The second year of Jesse’s campaign, in the spring in 1978, loose ends of his tie dangling from his collar Arthur Finkelstein ambled into my office, opened a poll, said Jesse had only inched up a couple of points, shaking his head pursed his lips.

“The Democrat primary is in May – their candidates are going to be on TV – you should too.”

Earl Ashe, TV producer, flew to New York, took a taxi to Yankee Stadium, filmed an ad with ‘Catfish’ Hunter the Yankee’s pitcher, made another ad with pitcher Gaylord Perry; we spent two hundred thousand dollars airing ads. Arthur returned to Raleigh, grinned Jesse had jumped ten points.

I did the math in my head: We spent two million dollars holding rallies, Jesse inched up a couple of points; we spent two hundred thousand dollars on TV ads he jumped up ten points.

The television age arrived.

Tom Ellis added a question to Arthur’s next poll: Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for a dedicated Christian?  Voters said Yes. Tom Ellis put a line at the end of every one of Jesse’s ads: Jesse Helms – A Dedicated Christian. That line made sense. It was practical. But it sowed unexpected fruit. Jesse started acting pious. Standing at podiums voice somber as a deacon he started telling a story about walking down a country road as a boy, stopping, staring at a turtle sitting on top of a fencepost – beside him his father chortled.

“You know one thing for sure – that turtle didn’t get there by himself.”

Staring at gray-haired ladies’ lined faces, working men in dungarees, taking a deep breath, lowering his chin, Jesse sighed: “Just like that turtle on the fencepost I didn’t get to the Senate by myself…I’m just the fellow the Good Lord tapped on the shoulder.”

He sounded humble to me until the night Alex Castellanos, sitting beside me, laughed softly.

“Yessir…the Good Lord just tapped ole Jesse on the shoulder the same way He tapped Moses.”

                                                  * * * * *

Jesse won. Went back to the Senate. But six years later, next time he ran, we learned sanctimony comes with a price.

You can order Carter Wrenn’s memoir – The Trail of the Serpent – on Amazon.

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Another Story from Politics

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Watergate sunk Nixon. Jimmy Carter was elected. Two years later Jesse Helms ran for reelection. In 1972, he’d been the only Republican to win a Senate election in North Carolina in the 20th century. After sweeping statewide elections in 1974 and 1976 Democrats were on a roll. Here’s a story about Jesse’s 1978 campaign from my book.

*****

Tom Ellis – Jesse’s campaign chairman – ran head-on into a brick wall: Cold hard cash. He needed millions of dollars to beat a Democrat. Boarding an airplane he flew to Washington, sat down facing Richard Viguerie – a direct mail fundraising genius; fundraising letters rolled out, the world exploded; before the curtain fell on election night two years later two hundred thousand people – from Maine to California – sent twenty-five and fifty dollar contributions. When the smoke cleared we raised over seven million dollars which would be twenty-nine million dollars today.

Tom Ellis started out building an old-fashioned campaign, holding rallies, recruiting volunteers in neighborhoods, opening county headquarters.

The second year of Jesse’s campaign, in the spring in 1978, loose ends of his tie dangling from his collar Arthur Finkelstein ambled into my office, opened a poll, said Jesse had only inched up a couple of points, shaking his head pursed his lips.

“The Democrat primary is in May – their candidates are going to be on TV – you should too.”

Earl Ashe, TV producer, flew to New York, took a taxi to Yankee Stadium, filmed an ad with ‘Catfish’ Hunter the Yankee’s pitcher, made another ad with pitcher Gaylord Perry; we spent two hundred thousand dollars airing ads. Arthur returned to Raleigh, grinned Jesse had jumped ten points.

I did the math in my head: We spent two million dollars holding rallies, Jesse inched up a couple of points; we spent two hundred thousand dollars on TV ads he jumped up ten points.

The television age arrived.

Tom Ellis added a question to Arthur’s next poll: Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for a dedicated Christian?  Voters said Yes. Tom Ellis put a line at the end of every one of Jesse’s ads: Jesse Helms – A Dedicated Christian. That line made sense. It was practical. But it sowed unexpected fruit. Jesse started acting pious. Standing at podiums voice somber as a deacon he started telling a story about walking down a country road as a boy, stopping, staring at a turtle sitting on top of a fencepost – beside him his father chortled.

“You know one thing for sure – that turtle didn’t get there by himself.”

Staring at gray-haired ladies’ lined faces, working men in dungarees, taking a deep breath, lowering his chin, Jesse sighed: “Just like that turtle on the fencepost I didn’t get to the Senate by myself…I’m just the fellow the Good Lord tapped on the shoulder.”

He sounded humble to me until the night Alex Castellanos, sitting beside me, laughed softly.

“Yessir…the Good Lord just tapped ole Jesse on the shoulder the same way He tapped Moses.”

                                                  * * * * *

Jesse won. Went back to the Senate. But six years later, next time he ran, we learned sanctimony comes with a price.

You can order Carter Wrenn’s memoir – The Trail of the Serpent – on Amazon.

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Carter Wrenn

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