American Thinker: Michael Nollet: 'Not All Conservatives Are Defenders of Joe McCarthy'

Source:American Thinker- U.S. Senator Joe McCarthy: the father of McCarthyite fascism. 

"On April 6, 2019, AT published the article, “On Joe McCarthy, Washington Post Gets It Embarrassingly Wrong,” by the estimable Jack Cashill. It drew hundreds of comments, which were overwhelmingly laudatory of McCarthy. The relatively few anti-McCarthy comments were pounced on by the McCarthy partisans.

McCarthy’s (few) detractors in the comments section of that article included this writer. My comments against McCarthy drew lots of ire and opprobrium from his fans. I thought that it would be best to write a rejoinder.

Perhaps my disdain for McCarthy is almost genetic, for it comes from my late father’s personal knowledge of him. My father, Lt. Col. Anthony R. Nollet, was a Marine Corps aviator and knew McCarthy well, they having served together in the same squadron that flew Douglas Dauntless SBD dive-bombers in the South Pacific. McCarthy was the Air Intelligence Officer for that squadron. My father passed on to posterity three stories about McCarthy, based on his personal observations. Perhaps this “oral history” has predisposed me to despise McCarthy.

Read more about Joe McCarthy the card welcher at American Thinker.  

“In mid-1954, a riveted nation watched Senator Joseph McCarthy accuse the U.S. Army of being infiltrated by communists. But the army’s lawyer, Joseph Welch refused to be bullied, and struck back.”

From the Series: America in Color: The 1950s”

Source:Smithsonian Channel- Joe McCarthy: the father of McCarthyite fascism. 

From the Smithsonian Channel

"In mid-1954, a riveted nation watched Senator Joseph McCarthy accuse the U.S. Army of being infiltrated by communists. But the army's lawyer, Joseph Welch refused to be bullied, and struck back.

From the Series: America in Color: The 1950s"

When I first saw this article from the right-wing pro-Trumpian American Thinker, I thought I might actually get to read an article from an actual Conservative, about how real Conservatives don't actually support Joe McCarthy and his attempts to out Americans simply because they're Communists who use their First Amendment right to free speech in this county. Which protects every American's right to free speech including radicals like Communists and Socialists on the Far-Left and Nationalists and other radicals on the Far-Right.

If anything the First Amendment protects radicals right to free speech more than mainstream Americans, because radicals need more protection. But silly me this article from Michael Nullet was about Joe McCarthy welching on his card debts when he was in the U.S. Marines. So I guess I'll have to make the argument for why Conservatives don't support McCarthyism and every other form of fascism Right or Left all by myself. Which might be more fun anyway. 

This might sound silly to anyone on the Far-Right, as well as hyper-partisans on the Far-Left: but when I think of Conservatives and conservatism, I look at it from a constitutional and political perspective, not religious, cultural, or tribalist and people who view themselves as the real Patriots ( whatever the country is ) and anyone who disagrees with them, or looks different, practices a different religion, live a different lifestyle, as traitors or invaders to their beloved country. 

From Wikipedia

"Conservatism is a political and social philosophy promoting traditional social institutions in the context of culture and civilization. The central tenets of conservatism include tradition, human imperfection, organic society, hierarchy, authority, and property rights.[1] Conservatives seek to preserve a range of institutions such as religion, parliamentary government, and property rights, with the aim of emphasizing social stability and continuity.[2] The more traditional elements—reactionaries—oppose modernism and seek a return to "the way things were."

So if you're an actual Conservative you not only believe in things like the U.S, Constitution and the First Amendment ( which guarantees our right to free speech ) but you believe in conserving those rights and values. Remember: Conservatives are supposed to believe in conserving. So you're not looking for government to punish people and out them simply because they hold political views that are either not mainstream or inline with the current government's thinking.

It's that old Ronald Reagan line and I'm paraphrasing here, but that democracy is big enough for the mainstream thinkers, as well as the radicals. And when you attempt to harm and eliminate the free speech rights of one side, simply because you don't like what they have to say, you put your own free speech rights in jeopardy, because then the'll come for you. Which is something that these so-called social justice warriors on the Far-Left with their political correctness movement simply don't understand.

There was nothing conservative about Joe McCarthy's fascist McCarthyism from the 1950s, at least from a political or constitutional perspective: you don't conserve the First Amendment by attacking the free speech rights of people that you don't agree with and are offended by. Of course we don't want Communists running our country and don't want communism in our government, but you don't defeat Communists and communism by acting like them, but by beating them with facts and evidence in the free market of ideas known as liberal democracy.  

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