by Steven V. Roberts; Gloria Borger; David Bowermaster
After years of declining health and shrinking visibility, 73- year-old Jesse Helms is back in the spotlight, kicking up dust and ticking off critics as he prepares to take over one of the most prestigious jobs in government, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Publicly, Democrats are appalled, joining a chorus of denunciation led by White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, who calls Helms's verbal attacks on President Clinton "dangerous and irresponsible." Privately, they are delighted. Helms makes an inviting political target, a man they can demonize as the paradigm of GOP extremists. "We're going to see more of this," predicts Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota, a candidate for Democratic leader. "No one can muzzle these people."
Since the election, Helms has tossed an arm load of grenades toward the White House. First he tried -- unsuccessfully -- to delay Senate action on the global trade treaty set for a vote this week. Then he told a television interviewer that Clinton was not qualified to be commander in chief. Finally, he said the president was so unpopular that "he'd better have a bodyguard" if he visited military bases in North Carolina. When challenged, Helms admitted only that he had made a "mistake" in judgment and then repeated his harsh assessment of Clinton's performance.
Still, any talk of denying Helms the Foreign Relations post was never serious. GOP leaders have a firm commitment to the seniority system, if only because they all eventually stand to profit from it. And Helms's formal power as committee chairman is limited. His panel approves treaties and ambassadorial appointments and sets broad guidelines for foreign aid, but the actual money is allocated by the Appropriations Committee. The chairman's real leverage comes from his ability to command attention, to distract the president and diminish the administration's credibility. Warns Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, another candidate for Democratic leader: "Those words are heard around the world."
America first. At times, Helms seems to be operating from an antiquated set of experiences and assumptions. "He's an old- fashioned, America-first, somewhat isolationist, hawkish Republican," says one GOP consultant. On one hand, Helms believes in an all-powerful Pentagon and assails Clinton for allowing military readiness to erode. On the other hand, he remains reluctant to use that power, opposing intervention in Haiti and American participation in United Nations peacekeeping missions. In denouncing foreign aid, Helms strikes the same nativist note that helped fuel passage in California of a sweeping ban on aid to illegal immigrants.
One big question remains: Helms's appetite for the fray. He has suffered from serious health problems, many of his most energetic staff members have left, his vaunted fund-raising network has collapsed, and he has lost the leadership of Senate conservatives to more energetic and media-conscious rivals like Phil Gramm of Texas. Indeed, Helms watchers back home say his latest outbursts were really intended to kick start his 1996 re- election campaign.
But even a diminished Jesse Helms remains a formidable opponent, and Democrats are plotting a two-pronged strategy: raising his visibility as a political target, while undermining his power by cultivating relationships with moderate Republicans. This approach was on display last week when Clinton ignored Helms's opposition to the trade pact and forged a deal with Republican leader Bob Dole that should lead to the measure's easy passage. The White House is also talking about closer ties with Sens. Richard Lugar of Indiana and Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas, two senior Republicans on Foreign Relations with bipartisan inclinations. "You have to work yourself around Jesse like a big rock in a river," says one GOP legislative expert.
But rocks can be dangerous. And the White House will have to be very careful in navigating the treacherous rapids around Point Helms.
