Alright, was anyone thinking this, McCarthy was the biggest commie. I mean, he says things like, (im gonna paraphrase this) "The comunist's job in America is to disrupt order, the American way of life, and American values". Now apply that to him. Look at all the people he got fired, all the people who could'nt get jobs because they were "commies". Not even proven communists, he just pointed and said, "he's a communist". Everyone got all patriotic, naming supposed communists, so they themselves don't accused. McCarthy was the communist, he disrupted order and the American way of life. I'm completely apalled.
Well a "commie" is one who favors a highly centralized government, one which controls all angles of the economy and in theory provides for a single, highly efficient economic machine. Since the average American back then (and probably now as well) was too stupid to understand what any of those big words mean, McCarthy got the idea to spread unfounded fear of said individuals, leading to "blacklisting" or whatever it was when everybody hated you because you were a suspected communist. He was an a-hole for sure, but a free-enterprise loving non-commie for sure.
McCarthy was a politician whose favor was lapsing in Washington. His glory days were coming to an end. Prior to that the Red Scare already existed but the counter movement out of Hollywood after the Hollywood Ten refused to testify before HUAC was gaining great momentum. He had a meeting with a couple of his buddies and they decided that utilizing the fear of communism as a driving force towards regaining political power would be a wise idea. They would simply use an already existant fear of 'commies' and enhance it, mold it, and turn it into a platform. Shortly after that he announced his first list of 'Communists' declaring them to be a grave threat to the American way. The rest as we know, is history.
Well, not a communist persay, but he was definitely a wannabe dictator. Sadly, the same thing happened again under the Nixon administration, and is now happening again under the Bush administration. If you disagree with the leadership, you're unpatriotic and aiding the enemy. The enemies have changed over the decades, but the crude political tactics have not.
Kandahar, the tactics have not changed since Nixon for good reason. Those whose agenda is driving this Bush admin's policies are the same cabal which have been incrementally but consistently striving toward achieving the level of centralised control now wielded inside the beltway since the Nixon administration in point of fact. Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, the hardline core of the chickenhawk brigade, got their start under Nixon and whether in or out of governing capacity at any stage during the 30+ years since that start, have helped to steer the nation's perceptions and the nature of our response in accordance with their pro-MIC visions of global supremacy being played out currently. An interesting survey following the paths of the key actors behind our present state of affairs can be found here
