MOTHERS KNOW BEST?

By Lisa H. Towle/Raleigh

Jesse Helms, you're grounded! That's the goal of the North Carolina PAC Mothers Against Jesse in Congress (MAJIC). The group of mostly sixtysomething mothers and grandmothers, which includes conservatives offended by Helms' stand against AIDS research and their gay children, produced a harsh TV ad to chastise him for "distortions, half-truths and intolerance." Not words Helms wants to hear. MAJIC believes he has ensured that most North Carolinians won't hear them either. Of eight stations approached by MAJIC, only three agreed to run the ad. Others begged off on "content" or said they didn't have time. "We know that Helms has threatened to sue a number of stations if they air our spots," says Betsy Hunt of MAJIC. An executive with WRAL in Raleigh said that the Helms campaign claimed MAJIC was not a legally registered PAC (it is) and that a member of an advertising agency working for Helms said the station would be "in trouble" if it ran the ad. After conferring with its attorney, WRAL aired it anyway.

--Reported by Lisa H. Towle/Raleigh