Steve Benen on Maddowblog reports on an interesting phenomenon seen on the far right over the last few years – the revival of a Senator Joe McCarthy cult:
In 2016, a Cruz national security adviser said McCarthy was “spot on” about communists infiltrating the United States government in the 1950s.
There’s been a lot of this kind of thinking. In 2008, then-Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) made a memorable appearance on MSNBC’s “Hardball,” telling Chris Matthews that she wanted an investigation into members of Congress to “find out if they are pro-America or anti-America.” Two years later, one of Bachmann’s closest allies, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), voiced support for the revival of the House Internal Security Committee, the 1960’s-era successor to the McCarthyite House Un-American Activities Committee. Missouri’s Todd Akin compared himself to McCarthy two years ago, and he meant it in a good way.
Last year, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) endorsed the idea of a new HUAC for a new era.
What I’m finding fascinating about the phenomenon is the so-far successful eliding, by the far right, of the moral argument which eventually brought Senator McCarthy’s crusade, and influence, to an end. They’re accomplishing this by the deeply flawed argument of the ends justify the means – one every child should be taught is wrong.
McCarthy was not brought to a halt by any failure to find Communists throughout government and, indeed, throughout America. Such a failure might have left him a little dusty footnote in the history books, but not thoroughly besmirched as he is today.
No, he failed because he used his position as Senator to bully and spread fear throughout America in search of those who might have even merely investigated the Communist ideology. His methods, at their heart shockingly un-American (sure, there’s a pun, but I’m not even stretching to get there), threatening to “smear” family and friends of his targets, his potential sources for lists of Communists, were the real reason Senator McCarthy has become an example of how American politicians – Americans in general – should NOT ever act. If you look at the histories of the period, we don’t hear about vast expellings of citizens, or the stripping of citizenships, or even executions of legions of leering Communists.
No. We hear about fear. Fear of a snitch falsely accusing us of being Communists. Of being put on lists which would keep us from ever advancing in our careers, of losing friendships.
For those who are doubtful concerning Joe McCarthy’s essential un-Americanism, I put forward two reasons for this conclusion.
- It’s an attack on our social fabric. His methods turned friend against friend, lover against lover – family member against family member. Imagine trying to turn your beloved Mother in because she told stories about attending one Communist Party meeting 20 years ago.
- This attack on two of our pillars of civil society – the right to think and speak what one wants, and not to be falsely accused and maligned by government actors – are not to be set aside at the paranoid ravings of anyone. I recently ran across a quote of President Trump’s from 1989: “CIVIL LIBERTIES END WHEN AN ATTACK ON OUR SAFETY BEGINS!” While I’m aware this can be read in more than one way, I’ll choose the most negative and reply, “No, Mr. President, our Civil Liberties give us a critical bulwark in our quest for safety, and he who advocates for their removal or neutering is nothing more than a traitor to the United States.” Think about it – our civil liberties are not luxuries, not privileges, but instead they are what safeguard us from the deprivations of tyrants, foreign and domestic. So long as we safeguard them, we’ll stand a better chance of survival in freedom, than we would without.
There’s little doubt, it seems, that Senator McCarthy was looking to advance his influence. Fortunately, the bravery of a few politicians slowed him, and every time he was exposed to the general American populace, his popularity waned. I believe that those who see in him a role model, a positive role model, are simply those who seek to convert a discredited methodology into a ladder for their own advancement.
And for them, the United States be damned. It’s power even in chaos, from Bannon (a known McCarthy sympathizer) on down.
While writing this post I ran across a blog devoted to the problem of McCarthyism, exposing its flea-bitten underside to the light. I haven’t read much of it, but I thought I’d point at it. It’s called … McCarthyism.
