Friday, February 09, 2007
This Day in American History
On this day in 1950, in a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-WI) charged that the State Department was riddled with Communists. Although he has ridiculed, dismissed, and then consigned to the crazy guy dustbin of history by his critics, mainly on the left, he was largely right, as we now know, for sure, from the Venona Project intercepts and the more recent opening of KGB archives. Indeed, McCarthy was extremely accurate in the scale of his accusations and more accurate than not in the details. The left in this country has closed its eyes to the supreme evil of Communism, apologized for its excesses which could not be ignored, and supplied a long list of spies and traitors.
Despite the overwhelming evidence, corroborated by the former Soviets themselves, some on the left continue in denial. And the Joseph McCarthy portrayed in film, and in what passes for history in our schools, remains the crazy drunk with at long last no decency.
Despite the overwhelming evidence, corroborated by the former Soviets themselves, some on the left continue in denial. And the Joseph McCarthy portrayed in film, and in what passes for history in our schools, remains the crazy drunk with at long last no decency.
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 12:07 AM 
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"he was largely right, as we now know, for sure, from the Venona Project intercepts and the more recent opening of KGB archives."
Although I don't think anyone disputes that Senator McCarthy was a liar (see "Tailgunner Joe") and a drunk ( Cook, Fred J., 1971, The Nightmare Decade: The Life and Times of Senator Joe McCarthy. Random House, pg. 537.- he was hospitalized on numerous occasions for alcholism), I do not believe there is very much evidence to support Roger's above statement.
"There are few, if any, cases where McCarthy was responsible for identifying a person, or removing a person from a sensitive government position, where later evidence has increased the likelihood that that person was a Communist or a Soviet agent."
Wikipedia
"Senator Joseph McCarthy’s Lists and Venona" John Earl Haynes(2006)
http://www.johnearlhaynes.org/page62.html
"The right wing's attempted rehabilitation of McCarthy is surely one of the most peculiar of their jihads of the past decade or so."
Sex And Communism. Washington Monthly.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2003_06/001468.php
"But it's a wild leap to say that these cables therefore vindicate McCarthy. A handful of his allegations have turned out to have been right. A handful of Mystic Meg's predictions no doubt end up being accurate too. McCarthy made so many accusations - with virtually no evidence - that it would be extraordinary if he did not hit the target a few times.
More than this, it is a blatant distortion of the historical record to claim that only McCarthy was opposed to Communist spies. Most of the democratic left saw the menace of Stalinism and the crucial importance of defending America's imperfect democracy. If anything, McCarthy damaged the cause of anti-Communism by associating it with paranoid madness."
Hari, Johann (March 26, 2004). The Exhumation of Joe McCarthy. History News Network.
http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/4324.html
Although I don't think anyone disputes that Senator McCarthy was a liar (see "Tailgunner Joe") and a drunk ( Cook, Fred J., 1971, The Nightmare Decade: The Life and Times of Senator Joe McCarthy. Random House, pg. 537.- he was hospitalized on numerous occasions for alcholism), I do not believe there is very much evidence to support Roger's above statement.
"There are few, if any, cases where McCarthy was responsible for identifying a person, or removing a person from a sensitive government position, where later evidence has increased the likelihood that that person was a Communist or a Soviet agent."
Wikipedia
"Senator Joseph McCarthy’s Lists and Venona" John Earl Haynes(2006)
http://www.johnearlhaynes.org/page62.html
"The right wing's attempted rehabilitation of McCarthy is surely one of the most peculiar of their jihads of the past decade or so."
Sex And Communism. Washington Monthly.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2003_06/001468.php
"But it's a wild leap to say that these cables therefore vindicate McCarthy. A handful of his allegations have turned out to have been right. A handful of Mystic Meg's predictions no doubt end up being accurate too. McCarthy made so many accusations - with virtually no evidence - that it would be extraordinary if he did not hit the target a few times.
More than this, it is a blatant distortion of the historical record to claim that only McCarthy was opposed to Communist spies. Most of the democratic left saw the menace of Stalinism and the crucial importance of defending America's imperfect democracy. If anything, McCarthy damaged the cause of anti-Communism by associating it with paranoid madness."
Hari, Johann (March 26, 2004). The Exhumation of Joe McCarthy. History News Network.
http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/4324.html
# posted by 
: 8:42 PM
: 8:42 PM
Sorry, I'm very poor at pasting webcites here for some reason. Should be:
Sex And Communism. Washington Monthly.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.
com/archives/individual/
2003_06/001468.php
Hari, Johann (March 26, 2004). The Exhumation of Joe McCarthy. History News Network.
http://hnn.us/roundup/
entries/4324.html
Sex And Communism. Washington Monthly.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.
com/archives/individual/
2003_06/001468.php
Hari, Johann (March 26, 2004). The Exhumation of Joe McCarthy. History News Network.
http://hnn.us/roundup/
entries/4324.html
# posted by : 8:46 PM
: 8:46 PM
Thanks Peter b for contra-sites. I'll get back to you. McCarthy clearly had a drinking problem, and you use that to dismiss him. Do you do the same with Edward Kennedy? Somehow I doubt it.
1. I'm not dismissing Tailgunner Joe because he "had a drinking problem", I'm just stating a fact. There are many other reasons to dismiss him.
2. Joe didn't "have a drinking problem", he was a drunk.
3. When you write a post about Edward Kennedy, I'll respond re Edward Kennedy. Your post was about Joe McCarthy. You have a knack for changing the subject.
2. Joe didn't "have a drinking problem", he was a drunk.
3. When you write a post about Edward Kennedy, I'll respond re Edward Kennedy. Your post was about Joe McCarthy. You have a knack for changing the subject.
# posted by : 12:10 PM
: 12:10 PM
Just pointing out the weakness of your primary argument by relevant comparison. Notice that I did not say McCarthy was an oracle, but that he was absolutely right about the scale of Soviet spies and sympathizers in the US Goverment and that he was more accurate in detail than your guys' tacit stopped clock, blind hog comparison would cause us to believe. I know I am right about the scale thing. I'll stand by my 'more accurate than not' statement based on memory alone now. I do not believe there is very much evidence to support Roger's above statement. I believe you believe that, but I don't believe you're right. I'll obtain more evidence and check out whom you are relying on. Fair enough?
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