Do you think that * is using McCarthyism on us?....You must read this!

[GingerSnaps]

For the next two years McCarthy's committee investigated various government departments and questioned a large number of people about their political past. Some lost their jobs after they admitted they had been members of the Communist Party. McCarthy made it clear to the witnesses that the only way of showing that they had abandoned their left-wing views was by naming other members of the party.

This witch-hunt and anti-communist hysteria became known as McCarthyism. Some left-wing artists and intellectuals were unwilling to live in this type of society and people such as Joseph Losey, Richard Wright, Ollie Harrington, James Baldwin, Herbert Biberman, Lester Cole and Chester Himes went to live and work in Europe.

At first Joseph McCarthy mainly targeted Democrats associated with the New Deal policies of the 1930s. Harry S. Truman and members of his Democratic administration such as George Marshall and Dean Acheson, were accused of being soft on communism. Truman was portrayed as a dangerous liberal and McCarthy's campaign helped the Republican candidate, Dwight Eisenhower, win the presidential election in 1952.

After what had happened to McCarthy's opponents in the 1950 elections, most politicians were unwilling to criticize him in the Senate. As the Boston Post pointed out: "Attacking him is this state is regarded as a certain method of committing suicide." One notable exception was William Benton, the owner of Encyclopedia Britannica, and a senator from Connecticut. McCarthy and his supporters immediately began smearing Benton. It was claimed that while Assistant Secretary of State, he had protected known communists and that he had been responsible for the purchase and display of "lewd art works". Benton, who was also accused of being disloyal by Joseph McCarthy for having much of his company's work printed in England, was defeated in the 1952 elections.


President Truman, speech to Congress (12th March, 1947)

The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want.
They spread and grow in the evil soil of poverty and strife. They reach their full potential when the hope of a people for a better life has died. We must keep that hope alive. If we falter in our leadership, we may endanger the peace of the world - and we shall surely endanger the welfare of our own nation.

At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is often not a free one. One way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression.

The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio, fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedom. I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAred.htm


* and the rethugs are taking the playbook from the McCarthy era and following it to a T. :scared:

[Artemis Bunyon]

1. yup

.

[starroute]

2. But there's one big difference between then and now

There really were Communists back then. There really were people who felt it was their duty to infiltrate progressive organizations and turn them into Communist front groups. There really were American Communists who were more loyal to the Soviet Union than to the United States.

That was an enormous Achilles heel for the left. It created feelings of guilt and of betrayal. People looked at old friends and wondered if they could still trust them. People on the left doubted themselves and wondered if their own idealism had made them dupes.

*None* of that is true today. There are no traitors, no infiltrators, no foreign loyalties. The left stands united in support of democracy and progressive values. Our only divisions are over things like electoral strategy and our only doubts over subtleties like whether there really is something elitist about being pro-environment or anti-gun.

So the Republicans may be able to use naked power to lean on the networks, but that's their only weapon. They have no way to demonize the left and no way to whip up the public against the Democratic Party.

And if they do try to come after us in the old McCarthyite style, we will be able to stand shoulder to shoulder in absolute solidarity, because there are no weaknesses or uncertainties in what we believe. In some ways, the left has been preparing itself to do just that for over fifty years -- cleaning house, examining its own motivations -- and we will be ready.

The Republicans are the ones with outside loyalties this time. They put greed over the safety of the American people. They put sucking up to the Saudis over doing what is best for their own country. They put cronyism ahead of loyalty. And that makes them very, very vulnerable.

[GingerSnaps]

4. The word Communists is being used to describe Democrats

Modernize McCarthyism change a few words and guess what it looks like we are being pushed back into the McCarthy era. :scared:

[starroute]

6. Republican tape loops

They're stuck calling names that meant something 50 years ago but are irrelevant now. If they had any better way to demonize the left, they'd be using it. They're fresh out of insults.

[212demop]

3. Bush's a monster in his own right.

I think we're past needing to reference McCarthy-- just say homeland security and all the McCarthy connotations are implicit. It's done.

[LimpingLib]

5. With the patriot act and sequels all our rights will just be de facto

Our freedoms will depend on whether or not our "violations" choose to be enforced or not.