David remembers another Christmas filibuster led by Senator Helms here.

And so, kids, gather around for a Christmas story from the olden days.
Back in the last century, in the year 1982, the Washington
establishment decided that the gasoline tax should be raised by a nickel a gallon.
Ronald Reagan, Tip O?Neill, Bob Michel, Howard Baker, Bob Dole, Dan
Rostenkowski ? they all wanted it. But Senators Jesse Helms, Don
Nickles, and Gordon Humphrey stood in the way. They filibustered right
up to the night of December 23. Finally the Senate worked its will, and
the tax increase passed.  Helms in particular was the subject of
calumny from across the Washington establishment, politicians and media
alike, both for opposing a much-needed tax increase and for cruelly
delaying Christmas for the senators (while trying to preserve it for
the taxpayers). 

And how did the voters respond to ?Senator No?? In a front-page article in the Washington Post
of January 2, 1983, describing Helms?s drive home on December 23 after
the grueling Senate debate, David Maraniss told the story:

Hours after his fortnight battle against the gasoline
tax increase was over and lost, he was bone-tired and bleary-eyed as he
drove down Interstate 95, and a few times during the five-hour trip his
car lurched precariously toward the shoulder of the highway. Finally,
when he reached the exit for South Hill, Va., he decided to pull over
and make a pit stop at Hardee?s.

No sooner had the senior senator from North Carolina approached the
counter of the fast-food establishment than a truck driver recognized
his unforgettable mug. ?Hey, there?s Jesse Helms,? said the trucker.
Heads turned, mutters of awareness filled the room, and suddenly,
spontaneously, some 15 or 20 fellow travelers were on their feet
applauding.

?That,? Helms would say later, ?was the first time I ever got a
standing ovation at Hardee?s.? In fact, it was one of the few times he
had received a warm reception anywhere during December.

He had left Washington with a few more nicknames attached to him by
his enemies, and even some friends, who had been frustrated by his
long, and in the end unsuccessful, attempt to talk the gasoline tax
increase to death. ?Scrooge,? they had called him, and the ?Grinch Who
Almost Stole Christmas.?

Where are the senators who will suffer the obloquy of the Washington
establishment this Christmas to protect the taxpayers and earn a
standing ovation outside the Beltway?