The difference between Reagan and Helms is the difference between a conservatism of hope and a conservatism of resentment.
There are, I have little doubt, literally millions of Americans who would be conservatives today if not for the snarling visage of Jesse Helms.
This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2008/07/rauch-on-helms/214417/
