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.  

You can also see this post on WordPress.

Audio Productions: U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy- 'Traitors Are Not Gentlemen': March 17, 1954'

Source:Audio Productions- U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy: the father of the McCarthyist movement

"Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy (November 14, 1908 -- May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visible public face of a period in which Cold War tensions fueled fears of widespread Communist subversion.[1] He was noted for making claims that there were large numbers of Communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers inside the United States federal government and elsewhere. Ultimately, his tactics and inability to substantiate his claims led him to be censured by the United States Senate.

The term McCarthyism, coined in 1950 in reference to McCarthy's practices, was soon applied to similar anti-communist activities. Today the term is used more generally in reference to demagogic, reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character or patriotism of political opponents.[2]

Born and raised on a Wisconsin farm, McCarthy earned a law degree at Marquette University in 1935 and was elected as a circuit judge in 1939, the youngest in state history.[3] At age 33, McCarthy volunteered for the United States Marine Corps and served during World War II. He successfully ran for the United States Senate in 1946, defeating Robert M. La Follette, Jr. After three largely undistinguished years in the Senate, McCarthy rose suddenly to national fame in February 1950 when he asserted in a speech that he had a list of "members of the Communist Party and members of a spy ring" who were employed in the State Department.[4] McCarthy was never able to prove his sensational charge.

In succeeding years after his 1950 speech, McCarthy made additional accusations of Communist infiltration into the State Department, the administration of President Harry S. Truman, the Voice of America, and the United States Army. He also used various charges of communism, communist sympathies, disloyalty, or homosexuality to attack a number of politicians and other individuals inside and outside of government.[5]

Not as widely known as McCarthy's anti-Communist crusade were his various attempts to intimidate, and expel from government positions, persons whom he accused, or threatened to publicly accuse, of homosexuality. Former U.S. Senator Alan K. Simpson has written: "The so-called 'Red Scare' has been the main focus of most historians of that period of time. A lesser-known element...and one that harmed far more people was the witch-hunt McCarthy and others conducted against homosexuals."

Source:Audio Productions

The piece from Audio Productions put out perfectly lays out what Senator Joe McCarthy stood for in the 1940s and how went from a lowly junior U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, to becoming one of the most powerful members of Congress: not just Senator's, but to becoming one of the most powerful people in Congress from either chamber in about 4 years.

By 1951, Senator McCarthy becomes Ranking Member of the Oversight Committee which is where he starts his so-called investigation of Communists in the U.S. Government, to two years later after Republicans win back Congress with Dwight Eisenhower becoming President where McCarthy becomes Chairman of that committee with subpoena power. Which was actually the start of his downfall because of how he used that power as Chairman and where guilt be association becomes better known as McCarthyism that of course was named as Senator Jospeh McCarthy.

As far as Senator McCarthy's Traitors Are Not Gentlemen speech: you have to understand what the term traitor is: a traitor is someone who "betrays a friend, country, or organization." Its a word that is wildly used today especially by hyper-partisans on the Far-Right in America and how they talk about people who simply disagree with them and don't share their politics, cultural or religious values, even if the person or people that they're labeling and even libeling have no foreign allegiances and love America for what America is which is the guaranteed right for Americans to be Americans not feel the need to have to fit into some religious or cultural box in order to be great Americans.

McCarthyism, wasn't the start of tribalism and what we call nationalism today, but it was a huge moment in time for those movements and Joe McCarthy is someone that Nationalists and the broader Far-Right in America look up today and view as one of their heroes and argue that McCarthy was right in what he did, because in their view Communists and Socialists in general aren't deserving of the same constitutional rights as people they would call the real Americans. Which are people that look at the world and America the way they do with this hardcore fundamentalist religious and cultural philosophy about what America is and what they believe it should be.

What McCarthyites and people who would be called Nationalists today fail to understand or aren't willing to admit is what makes America great is the guaranteed right for Americans to be Americans and that we don't all have to be the same: we don't have to look the same, act the same, talk the same way, believe in the same religion, or even have to be religious at all, and we don't have to think the same way to be great Americans. We just have to acknowledge the respect the rights and freedoms of other Americans as much as our own. 

Foundation Interviews: Betty Garrett- On Meeting Senator Joseph McCarthy

Source: Foundation Interviews-

Source: Foundation Interviews: Betty Garrett- On Meeting Senator Joseph McCarthy

That must have been a meeting where you would want to have a camera and video rolling so you always have that memory with you and can always remember it accurately and share with everyone else. Actress Betty Garret, an actual Communist and a one-time member of the Communist Party USA in the 1940s and 1950s. Senator Joseph McCarthy, a right-wing demagogue what we would call today and perhaps back then a Nationalist as well as tribalist, fascist even. Who believed he and people who thought like him were the only true Americans and people who dissented from him like Communists, Socialists, and Liberals, were Un-American. And should be in jail or at least not allowed to speak out and express themselves politically and otherwise.

How would a meeting like that go? A Communist meeting a right-wing Nationalist-tribalist. The 1950s version of Governor George Wallace, or Donald Trump today. What would a Communist who is as Far-Left as you can get politically and believes all aspects of private ownership should be illegal and would work to eliminate all aspects of individualism including, freedom of religion in society ( if Betty Garrett was truly a hardcore Communist ) say to a Nationalist-fascist who believes people shouldn't even be allowed to believe in communism, let alone practice those politics and be a political activist. It must have been like President Richard Nixon going to China in 1971 or President Ronald Reagan negotiating with Russia over nuclear weapons reduction in the mid and late 1980s.

Betty Garrett I believe was right about Joe McCarthy at least in this aspect. That McCarthy didn't have any sense of morality in the sense that he had a mission and to hell with who he hurts along the way to try to accomplish that mission. Apparently including himself since a Republican Senate censored him over his activities during his tenure as Chairman of the Investigations Committee in 1953-54. McCarthy was full speed ahead to try to accomplish his mission which was to eliminate all Communists and perhaps Socialists in general from the U.S. Government and use that as a launching pad to run for President probably in 1960. We've had plenty of bad people who have served in Congress including racists and KKK members, but Joe McCarthy was certainly one of the worsts we've ever had.

The Rape of Justice: Jeff Rense Interviewing Eustace Mullins: Joe McCarthy & The Kennedy's

Source:Bit Chute- The Father of McCarthyism; Senator Joe McCarthy.

“TheRapeOfJustice-DeletedYouTubeVideos” 

From Bit Chute 

Here’s a radio interview I guess on the Joe Rense Show, or whatever that show is called with Eustace Mullins. Eustace Mullins was one of the top conspiracy theorists in America in the 20th Century. Part of the so-called New World Order crowd who saw the Federal Reserve as some dictatorship. Who was anti-semitic and believed the Jews were trying to run the world.

So to have a man like this believe that what Senator Joe McCarthy was doing with his McCarthy hearings in the Senate in 1953-54 was a good thing and that a lot of good came from that, is not surprising that someone of that background could believe all of that nonsense. (To be nice)

I mean to call Franklin Roosevelt a Communist when he and his administration helped create the U.S. National Security State that not only won World War II and defeated the German Nazis, but also gave America the strength it needed to fight and win the Cold War and defeat Russian communism, gives you an idea how far Eustace Mullins played out in right field. Probably somewhere around 1000 feet if not miles from home plate. He might even need binoculars, or a telescope to see home plate, or even centerfield from how Far-Right and conspiratorial he was.

But Joe McCarthy wasn’t by himself. He not only believed that Communists were going to takeover the U.S. Government, but had a lot of support on the Far-Right in America who believed the same thing in the 1950s.

I’m sure that Joe McCarthy wanted to find Communists in the U.S. Government both Truman and Eisenhower administration’s, but his ultimate goal was to run for president and run as the top anti-Communist Cold Warrior in America. And run for president in 1960 and use his investigating committee as his launching post in order to accomplish that.

That obviously crashed and burn with a Republican Senate along with support from Senate Democrats the minority party back then voting to censor Senator McCarthy in 1954. Because both caucus’ believed that McCarthy went too far and hurt a lot of innocent Americans who had nothing to do with communism other than perhaps knowing Communists, or meeting them at functions. 

You can also see this post at The Daily Post, on WordPress. (No pun intended) 

You can also see this post at The Daily Post, on Blogger. (No pun intended)

CBS New: See it Now: Joseph McCarthy Responds to Edward R. Murrow

Source:The New Democrat

For the life of me I wonder where Joe McCarthy got his information. Was it someone on his staff. Which is probably likely, but where would that person get their information. Or was it someone from an outside party outside of government. Perhaps a political activist group that was really anti-communist from the right-wing in America. I mean just the stuff, well perhaps that’s too nice. Maybe trash, that would be better, but still not strong enough and I think I know where I’m going here, but what he said about Ed Murrow and trying to link him with some communist group in Russia. I mean is this guy simply a big fat liar? Possible, I mean he was a sitting U.S. Senator. And we all know about all the hot hair in Congress. And not just from the Washington summers.

If Ted Cruz today, who also happens to be a U.S. Senator wants to know why he gets compared to Joe McCarthy, it is because of statements like this from McCarthy. Where you take one negative, or less than flattering piece about someone from the opposition and you try to make it look as negative as you possibly can get way with. You overly distort what someone said and take it way out of context. You take one line from one statement from one article, or one document and try to make it look like that is all that person said and that there’s nothing else to it. Which is what Senator McCarthy did with his whole guilt by association routine with his Government Oversight Committee.

The main problem with Joe McCarthy is that he represented exactly what he claimed to be against. Where he said all of these negative things about the Soviet Union and communism about the supremacy of the state. And that the individual it not important and all of this is true by the way. But the problem had been that he took the attitude that if you don’t believe him all the way and agree and approve of exactly everything he did with his speeches and investigation, he would accuse you of giving comfort to the enemy. Which is what he accused Ed Murrow of in 1954. Joe McCarthy, might have believed in the supremacy of the state over the individual. But believed in the supremacy of Joe McCarthy over the individual. You either with him all the way, or you’re against America and what it stands for.

Liberty in Our Time: Video: Blacklisted From History: Interview With Stanton Evans

Source:The New Democrat

I’m not an expert on Stanton Evans, but what I’ve seen from him is that he basically sees Senator Joe McCarthy as the good guy during this period. The Army-McCarthy hearings of 1953-54, chaired by Senator Joe McCarthy in the Senate during the 83rd Congress. Just after Dwight Eisenhower is elected President and Congressional Republicans win back the Senate and House of Representatives. That none of the people who Chairman McCarthy and his staff investigated were innocent. That they were all Communists, or at the very least had solid information about Communists in the U.S. Government.

Were there Communists in America in the 1940s and 50s, of course. Where there Communists in Hollywood in the 1940s and 50s, of course. Were there Communists who also worked in the U.S. Government, yes. Were they Russian agents working for the Soviet Union trying to dismantle the American Federal Republic and American liberal democracy, no. At least from what I’ve seen and all the so-called evidence of Russian agents working for the U.S. Government, all come from Tea Party or neoconservative Far-Right types. Who sees anyone even Republicans, who are to the left of them as soft on communism.

The so-called House Un-American Activities Committee, from the mid and late 1940 and then the Senate Army-McCarthy Committee, from 1953-54, did a lot of damage to America and a lot of Americans. Two major Congressional committees, that made Americans look bad simply because of who they associated with, or had contact with. The ultimate guilt by association, is what these two Congressional committees are responsible for. I mean, a U.S. Senator who is also Chairman of the Government Oversight Committee, Joe McCarthy, accusing one of the most distinguished lawyers and the Chief Counsel of the U.S. Army, as being a Communist and Russia agent, Joe Welch. Is just an example of how bad this committee was and the amount of damage that they did.

Museum Syndicate: Video: Longines Chronoscope: Interview With Senator Joseph McCarthy, 1952

Source:The New Democrat

This is 1952, so the Democrat Party still controls Congress both the House and Senate, as well as the White House with President Harry Truman. Republicans won a clean sweep in 1952 and won back the White House and both chambers of Congress. Which meant Senator Joe McCarthy would become Chairman of the Government Oversight Committee in the next Congress in 1953. And that is how the Army-McCarthy hearings go started in 1953 and went up to 1954 or so. When the American people and Senate Republicans along with Democrats got tired of Chairman McCarthy and his McCarthyism hearings. And they shut him down and censured him.

As far as Corliss LaMont with the American Labor Party. He was a Democratic Socialist, but further Left than Norman Thomas. Who ran for President several times for the Socialist Party. Norman Thomas was a Democratic Socialist in the European sense. Combining private enterprise with democratic socialism and the welfare state. Private sector with a large public sector that provides people with most of the basic necessities of life that we all need to live well. While the private sector provides things that people want and what makes us happy. And where people are allowed to keep their homes, cars, small business’s even. Corliss LaMont want government owning and operating the business sector, as well as the social welfare sector.

Arpa Keun: McCarthyism in America

Source:Arpa Keun

McCarthyism in America deserves at least one long blog and probably several of them. But to give you a summary of McCarthyism. It was about one U.S. Senator from Wisconsin Joe McCarthy who was anti-Communist to the point. That he didn't believe Democracy or Liberal Democracy could survive in the United States with any link to it. Especially inside the United States Government that he had to do everything in his power that he had. As a Member of Congress to absolutely destroy it.

Senator Joe McCarthy saw his anti-Communism as the ticket to bigger and greater things as far as his political career. And perhaps something that would get him to the White House post the Eisenhower Administration. And he took it as far as he could to get everything out of it that he could politically. To the point that he not only destroyed his own political career. But destroyed the professional lives of a lot of good innocent Americans.

Smithsonian Channel: Video: Enemies Within: Joe McCarthy: Spreading Lies and Ruining Lives

Source:The Daily Post 

I’ve only seen certain parts of this film, but it looks very interesting from what I’ve seen. And about a very important part of the Twentieth Century. The 1940s and 50s where the fear of Communists and communism and even communists in the U.S. Government was real high. And Americans were actually worried about Communists taking over America. Which was never a real concern, considering how strong America was during the entire Cold War. And how weak are so-called Communist rivals were the whole time.

Especially the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China. Who were both just trying to keep up with America, especially from a military perspective and having as much if not more influence around the world as the United States. But neither Russia, or China has ever come close to matching our economic power around the world. And yes, the Soviet Union, was a great military power and even diplomatic power. But because of their Marxist state-control economic system, would’ve never been able to compete with America economically and even maintain their military power. And a big reason why the Soviet system collapsed when it did in 1991.

What Senator Joe McCarthy did in the 1950s, especially with his powerful position in the Senate as Chairman of the Government Oversight Committee and perhaps Congress as a whole, was to take advantage of the fears that too many Americans have about communism back then. And use those fears to try to further advance his political career and perhaps make a run for president himself in 1960. If not just further his political power and career in the Senate. Joe McCarthy, was the demagogue of demagogues. And hurt the lives of a lot of good Americans, simply because of who they may have associated with and their political beliefs. Which is un-American.

Frank Klassen: Video: Joseph Welch Versus U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy

Source:The Daily Post

Joe McCarthy’s, whole strategy in these hearings was based around guilt by association. “If you know a Communist, or were in the same room of a Communist, or part of the same group as a Communist, you are automatically a Communist. Which of course is a bad thing that must be called out.” As if you are an American traitor, or something. Rather than having hearings based on whether or not there are Communist spies in the United States Government. In this video, you hear Chairman McCarthy, question the American allegiance of Joe Welch. Who just happened to be the Chief Counsel of the U.S. Army. Which just goes to the lack of depth and knowledge and perhaps honesty that Joe McCarthy and his staff had about the people they were investigating.

You don’t become Chief Counsel of the U.S. Army if you’re Un-American. I mean seriously, what is the main function of the U.S. Army, but to defend the United States. I mean, the stupidity, or just plain dishonesty and political games that Joe McCarthy would play to do what? Scare Americans about communism? Set up a presidential run for 1960? They had almost nothing on most of the people they were supposedly investigating in these hearings. As this hearing shows. Guilt by Association, could’ve been and perhaps should’ve been the title of these hearings. “If you associate with a Communist, or perhaps just met one at one point, that much mean you’re a Communist as well.” Which was basically the thinking, if you want to call it that, of Joe McCarthy and his staff at these hearings.

It’s almost as if Joe McCarthy and his staff didn’t know they were on national TV. Perhaps not even aware that TV had been invented yet and close if not universal yet. And that everything that they said and did during these hearings and supposedly reported, would be seen at some point by the entire country. And that all of their paper-thin evidence would be seen and shown to the country as well. And made to look like it actually is. Which is paper-thin, with no there, there and not just Ed Murrow and his See it Now show over at CBS News. But the other news shows and radio and national papers as well. That they didn’t have what they needed, or even close to having what they needed to make Joe Welch and others look like Communists and anti-American.

Tasty Peach Cobbler: Video: The Army-McCarthy Hearings Documentary

Source:The Daily Post

The West with the help of Russia wins World War II and agrees to give Europe the resources that it needs to rebuild themselves after Nazism and what Italian Fascists did to the continent. The West, America and Europe was now somewhat at peace. But in America and Europe you had this huge liberal democracy in America and all of these mid-size developing social democracies in Europe. Against this gigantic totalitarian Communist State in the Soviet Union in Russia. And the two dominant visions of the world because the Liberal Democratic America, versus Communist Russia.

And because of the emergence of the Cold War Americans especially those who perhaps very well-educated about communism became afraid if it. And were worried about communism taking over America and Communists running America. And that is where Senator Joe McCarthy and his allies and colleagues in Congress starting in the House in 1947 with the Un-American Activities Committee. And then in the Senate with Army-McCarthy hearings, emerge to look like they were stamping out Communists in the U.S. Government.

Senator Joe McCarthy becomes a political star very early on, especially as a junior Senator. He becomes Chairman of the Government Oversight Committee in the Senate in 1953 after Republicans win back Congress again. After only being in the Senate for five years. But his political skills at least early on and his power as a speaker gave him a following to move up quickly and a platform to investigate supposed Communists in the U.S. Government. And to look like the strongest anti-Communist around and to advance his political career.