What Was McCarthyism?

[Chris Brady <cdbrady@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

McCarthyism is a convenient expression that hides more than it reveals.
Historically there had been a movement to repress popular, radical
intellectual and working class movements since well before World War
II.  The war forced an accomodation between contradictory classes to put
out the uncontrolled fire of fascism.  Even during the war, toward its
end, people in the know were prepared to resume the struggle.

Truman's loyalty oath predated McCarthy's opportunism.  Red-baiting was
in full swing by the time boozy old Tail-Gunner Joe McCarthy jumped on
the bandwagon.  Nixon was another opportunist who set his sights on
Alger Hiss, and used bluff and lies to bamboozle the court, and
ultimately to set him off down the road to the White House.  John
Kennedy was also a red baiter.  But why not?  The capitalist press was
in on it.  And big labor was ready to consolidate its hold on power by
joining in on the red scare, too.

By the way, McCarthy never was a tail gunner, at least not in the Air
Force.  You'd have to ask his sycophantic assistant, the lawyer Roy Cohn
if the bullying Senator performed as a tail gunner in any other
capacity.  But to do so you'd have to perform a seance, for Roy passed
away some time ago from AIDS.  The wierd thing was they weren't above
impugning their victims with innuendos of deviancy.  Well, hypocrisy
seems to be a requirement in the ranks of the rulers.  J. Edgar Hoover
comes to mind, sheesh!  He used to dress up in lady's clothing, handbag,
the works.  Hey, whatever floats your boat--but he also was a baiter of
anything off the path of the straight and narrow.  Go figger...


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