Demagogue

It's going to be the event of the season -- be sure to mark your calendar for Tuesday night, September 20:

On September 20, 2005, national conservative leaders and activists will gather at the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Arlington, Virginia to salute Senator (Jesse) Helms. This can't miss event will celebrate the release of Senator Helms' recently published memoirs, "Here's Where I Stand."

Senator Elizabeth Dole and Senator Richard Burr are the event's co-sponsors and will be there in person to salute Jesse Helms. Also invited to participate are many of Senator Helms' former colleagues and friends from the conservative movement. This is one special event you don't want to miss!

Yes, it's definitely time to honor the man whom soft-spoken columnist David Broder called "the last prominent unabashed white racist politician in this country." It's time to kick off your heels and toast the man who voted against the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday and tried to tar and feather King on the Senate floor in John Bircher fashion.

I guess it'll be a "black tie" event. Or, on second thought, this is definitely a white tie event .... a lily white tie event.