It looks like it's back! Most on this forum are probably too young to remember McCarthyism. It was named after Joe McCarthy, an extreme right wing fascist in the republican party back in the 60's. He held congressional hearings on exposing the entertainment industry as a bunch of communists, and destroyed the lives and reputations of many movie directors and actors. Well the extreme right is at it again. They managed to destroy their own Speaker of the House as too moderate. And it is probable that another McCarthy is going to take over as speaker, although he might be too moderate for the Teabaggers too. The extreme right is looking for a no compromise, take no prisoners, style of McCarthyism again. They want to destroy Planned Parenthood, and are willing to shut down the government again, to get it done. The farther right the GOP candidates can get, the better they will do. The GOP may become farther right than Mussolini.
A well planed assault that spans years---decades in fact. Destruction of education, demonizing others---war on christianity--war on xmas--war on the poor, (even as they help create them), planned deregulation of anything and everything that stops them from their unlimited greed, the elimination of the FAIRNESS DOCTRINE, (so that anything can be said about the "enemies"of the corporate takeover and control of the government without recourse), the ownership of the media, the rigged wall street game, the elimination of unions and they are not shy about any of it-----because it's working for them. Right there for anyone that has eyes to see and ears to hear. 'gonna get worse, methinks.
The problem with some Americans (as I’ve pointed out many, many times here) is that they often seem to equate any left wing idea with Stalinist communism. Many people here have been called a ‘pinko’ or a communist and even when its been explained why they're not, many still don’t seem to see the difference between say a Keynesian liberal socialist and an extreme communist. It’s disappointing but not surprising given the history of the US, basically wealth and its right wing supporters tried to purge the US of left wing ideas. It wasn’t a formal conspiracy or anything like that just a group’s reaction to a perceived threat to their ideological and material position. And it wasn’t as successful outside of the US because of differing history, for example – in Europe before WWII, the right and wealth often supported fascistic ideas, with right wing British newspapers supporting the British Union of Fascists one calling it - Quote "a well organised party of the right ready to take over responsibility for national affairs with the same directness of purpose and energy of method as Hitler and Mussolini have displayed" Quote from the Daily Mail January 1934, which also ran the front page headline "Hurrah for the Blackshirts" on 8 July of the same year. And it is not surprising that after the war against Fascism was over there was a major backlash against the wealthy elite and right wing ideas. In the UK the war leader Churchill was rejected by voters in favour of the Labour Party and the formation of the welfare state system (which the US tried to scupper). In the US instead of a left wing surge there was the Second Red Scare http://en.wikipedia....7.E2.80.9357.29 The result in the US was even more anti left wing propaganda and a societal purge of those with left wing ideas.
For those that might want to read more about the idea I’ve presented above what follows are some edited but still rather long explanations I’ve given here before (please skip if you’re not interested) – The first gives an outline and the other more detail. * The Premise The wealthy elites of the US (and most of the world) fearing the rise of communist ideology and the an increased interest in left wing political ideas around the globe began to support anti-left wing groups and policies, which by definition were conservative or even further to the right. It wasn’t so much a conspiracy as a group’s conscious reaction to a perceived threat to it ideological and material position. They used whatever means possible to ‘educate’ people into believing the ‘truth’ that left wing views are communist and communism was ‘evil’ and wrong. During this campaign there were many anti-communist claims of a covert communist plan to take over America and the world, but since more often than not there was no real evidence for this they resorted to innuendo, supposition and down right lies and many right wing groups like the John Birch Society used those to weave their conspiracy theories. "By 1963, corporations were spending an estimated $25 million per year on anticommunist literature... Some corporations circulated print and audio-visual materials produced by the John Birch Society; other corporations produced their own in-house literature...By the early 1960s, the Nation magazine reported that there was a minimum of 6,600 corporate-financed anticommunist broadcasts, carried by more than 1,300 radio and television stations at a total annual budget of about $20 million...Leading sponsors included Texas oil billionaire H.L. Hunt and Howard J. Pew of Sun Oil. The corporate sector's massive anticommunist propaganda campaigns created a favorable climate for the mobilization of activist groups like the John Birch Society." Sara Diamond, Roads to Dominion: Right-Wing Movements and Political Power in the United States, http://www.amazon.com/Roads-Dominion-Right-Wing-Movements-Political/dp/0898628644/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216203697&sr=8-1"]http://www.amazon.com/Roads-Dominion...6203697&sr=8-1 It is something that carries on today, with the huge number of wealth sponsored right wing activities from publishing through radio to the many think tanks and academic grants; it’s also prevalent on the internet through direct sponsorship of sites and by viral sellers in internet forums. This manipulation of the ‘facts’ was most successful in the US where many came to believe (as a matter of ‘common sense) that any left wing ideas were ‘communist’ and that communism was an ‘evil’ whose purpose was the destruction of the ‘American way of life’. As I’ve pointed out before people joined or supported such movements for differing reasons. Some people did this because they actually thought left wing ideas wrong, others did it because they feared that left wing ideas if implemented might diminish their wealth and influence, and some were just hangers on. So once the population were ‘educated’ and ‘informed’ about ‘communism’ (any left wing or progressive thought) they became accepting even complicit in the harassment and suppression of such ideas at home and abroad. In the US there was government sponsored repression, workplace purges, show trials and other scare tactics. Abroad it was worse, the US made covert and overt attacks on governments it came to deem as communist (or communist leaning) and a number of democratically elected governments were overthrown in favour of ‘anti-communist’ dictators. Often the true reason for such attacks seemed more about money than real fear, as in Guatemala (the US fruit corporations), Iran (Anglo-American oil interests) and Chile (US mining concerns). There was torture, murder and a hell of a lot of blood spilt in these ‘righteous’ wars against ‘evil’, and in a lot of cases it did more harm than good. __________________ Conspiracy or lobbying? http://www.hipforums.com/newforums/showthread.php?t=314393&f=36 * The History Unions that tried to improve the conditions of some of the poorest in society often found themselves the object of state repression from the very beginning. Demands for such things as an eight hour day were ignored or suppressed with force by private police forces, state militias and even the National Guard, there was the suppression of public meetings or free speech, the imprisonment of people without charge, many people including women and children were beaten up and others killed. Also it was difficult for left wing groups to break into the political mainstream. The Democrats and Republicans have often joined together to exclude other political groups or party’s, since these are in the main right wing in outlook it has meant that the groups most often excluded have been left wing. (That is why many people in the US don’t vote for what they believe in or want but just to keep out something that they see as worse.) Against such opposition it is amazing that in 1912 the US Socialist Party had over a thousand elected officials in local government and that Eugene Debs got a million votes in that years presidential race (6 per cent of the vote, the envy of many socialist around the world at the time). It was able to get over thirty Majors into power as many legislators and had large numbers of loyal votes in many urban areas. It was a growing force. But the repression of trade union groups and left wing political ideas continued. For opposing WWI Debs was arrested and convicted to ten years in prison, from where he stood for President in 1920 receiving 913,664 votes (Nader got about half that in 2004 and Perot about double in 1992) Another socialist opponent of the war was also sentenced to prison Victor Berger however he did get elected to Congress but was refused entry this caused a re-election that he again won, but he was still refused entry. In other areas like New York openly socialist representatives to the city and state - who had been democratically elected - were also barred from their posts. Around this time many states passed laws banning the display of red flags (a communist and socialist emblem) and the federal government set up the General Intelligence Division headed by none other than J. Edger Hoover to monitor (harass) left wing ‘radicals’. This harassment turned into repression during the late 1930’s with the establishment of the committee for ‘Un-American Activities’. This was set up to root out people whose view didn’t conform to what was thought of as American (basically thought policemen) and the US political elite, who had a grip on the system, came to see those with left wing views as un-American. It began by targeting those that advocated the overthrow of any government in the United States. Now think about that many people here have advocated the overthrow of the US’s government. As I’ve pointed it is the justification many give for owning guns - so they can overthrow the government of the US if ‘needs’ must. It made it illegal to advocate or teach such ideas or help disseminate them in any way also any group that the government didn’t like could be targeted and forced to give the names and address of its members and the FBI illegally was authorised to tap phones and mail open peoples mail. This suppression was stepped up after the war, and to give an indication of the mentality of those in charge of the ‘un-American’ purge this is a quote from Albert Canwell who was chair of the California state committee – “If someone insists there is discrimination against Negroes in this country, or that there is inequality of wealth, there is every reason to believe that person is a communist” And when the House Committee for Un-American Activities dropped its investigation into the Klu Klux Klan in favour of going after the left wing the committee member John Rankin said that "After all, the KKK is an old American institution." What followed seems very like a move by the American political elite to rid the US of what they saw as a political rival. A loyalty programme was brought in for all government workers and anyone with left leaning views or associations could lose their job, in other words be sacked for their beliefs. People could appeal but the evidence against them did not have to be disclosed and accusers did not have to be identified. Think about that – believing in equal rights or a distributive tax system could have got you thrown out of your job? Later it became even easier to sack someone for having ‘suspect’ (left wing) views, with the criteria for dismissal going from ‘reasonable grounds’ to only having to have ‘reasonable doubts’ about a persons supposed ‘loyalty’ and those that had been cleared under the lower criteria had their case re-opened. And in 1953 departments were given the power to dismiss individuals without having to conduct any hearing whatsoever on the merest suspicion. The Progressive Party of the time, which among other things advocated an end to segregation, full voting rights for blacks, and universal government health insurance, was branded a ‘communist’ party. Its leader Henry Wallace, along with others advocating such ‘radical’ ideas were then banned from speaking at a number of universities. The purge spread from the government into other areas most famously the entertainment industry, but also academia were airing ‘communist’ ideas (that in practice meant many left wing ideas) could bring about dismissal and the law where the American Bar Association also brought in a loyalty oath, and lawyers that defended those accused of having un-American ideas could find themselves been accused of the same thing and put under investigation. At the same time there was a constant stream of anti-communist propaganda but this very often made no distinction between what was ‘evil communist’ and the vast majority of left wing thought. And many Americans even today seem to make little distinction between hard line Stalinism and the wishy washy leftism of say New Labour - it happens frequently on these forums with ‘communist’ been thrown out as an insult and being directed at those with even the most moderate of lift wing views. And on the many right wing websites there are shrill cries whenever anyone says anything that isn’t firmly right of centre, and the kind of attack and slander once directed at commies has now expanded to include ‘liberals’.
Thanks for the correction. I was pretty young myself. I learned about it in history class in the 60's. My world history teacher was the best teacher I ever had. Here's a quote from him...."Confucius said, that when rape is inevitable, relax and and enjoy it." I think he was referring to being fucked by our government. He was also the coach of the football team. He died with the team when they were on their way to an away game, and the bus went off a cliff, a thousand foot drop....no survivors.
McCarthyism is having hearings on Benghazi now instead of Hollywood commies. There have been more hearings on Benghazi than the Watergate hearings. If the dems win congress back next year, maybe they'll bring back the Iran/Contra hearings......
Thanks S Thing is that the anti-left purge worked, the fact is that established power will always try and protect and promote its interests and in a monetary based society wealth has power and influence and if it is allowed to happen there can be a snow balling effect – gaining an increase in power gives it the ability to gain more and so on until there comes a tipping point (radical political change) but sensing the tipping point coming (increase in crime and civil unrest) power can become increasingly authoritarian which in itself can bring the tipping point. So could there be another purge, the question I’d ask is who is there to purge. I mean I don’t see the US coming anyway close to a tipping point. Although there seems to be growing unrest amongst some mainly lower class socio-economic groups (but these seem to be usually interpreted in racial terms) the vast majority of Americans seem to have bought into the current economic model and the inequality it is bringing about.
I was born in 1961 so MacCarthy was before my time. There are John Birtch/ Tea party people around here. These are pretty scary times right now. Neighbors being involved in some shenanigans at some point wouldn't surprise me none.
Its a good thing when our politicians are held accountable. Especially by the press and media, its much preferable to a partisan congressional inqury, like Benghazzi. When this breaks down, and we get fawning; "Rolling Stone Journalism" ( Oh yeah, the junkie punk guitarist is a really great person ) then the system suffers.
McCarthy just isn't far enough right wing for the teabaggers, so Jason Chaffetz is out to dethrone him. Chaffetz promised to shut down the government and blame Obama for it. I find it amusing that cons even hate each other. http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/04/politics/house-speaker-mccarthy-chaffetz/
I've been reading about how Economist: Robert Litan was just fired from his part time job at: The Brookings Institute. Google it. Then come back and tell me more about McCarthyism.
McCarthyism is dead...again. McCarthy just bowed out for the speaker of the house. Said he couldn't unite the congress. A perfect example of who is responsible for the dysfunction in the government.
i do remember. and it was the 50s, not 60s. mccarthy was a senator during eisenhour's regeme. he blacklisted all the creative people, made communism a hate word, and was otherwise basically drunken slob, who hated the idea that anyone might be anything else. the 60s is when kennidy got elected, because people were starting to realize just how screwed up ideological prejudice, along with every other kind, really is. (i was born in 1948, so yah, i was there. in 1960 i was 12 years old, and very much aware of what was going on.) it was in the 60s, that the children of the veterans of world war two, were willing to go to jail and be defamed, in order to make the 70s, which were as close as america has yet come culturally, to reversing the evil that mccarthyism really was. and it was those who were willing to sacrafice their personal social reputation, to offer an alternative, to an american culture, of hatered, biggotry and war mongering, to whom the established interests of corporate media, attached and stigmatized the term "hippie". in the 1970s i was an adult. 1970 was my 22nd birthday. in the 70s mccarthyism was chaised mostly underground, though we still had 'the cold war', a legacy of eisenhour. in 1980 i all but litterally beat my head against walls that people could be so stupid, or gullible or whatever you want to call it, as elect raygun. i don't think most people who voted for him, really realized what he wanted to do. just as kennidy did not do everything right, raygun did not do everything bad. but there is such a things as mostly. the raygun era gave us the personal computer, and freed the mentally challanged, who had previously been treated worse then criminals. but it was also the beginning of the end for america having a majority middle class, which had been created largely by trade unions, and SMALL scale retailing. mccarthyism, which had been the klan all along, and the fred burchers, and those neo-loonies who were hiding out in idaho in those days, re-emerged as people for the new american century, which then became the tea party.
McCarthyism is dead.. again....but something worse....Paul Ryanism....he admitted that the GOP has been the problem, but now wants it to be the solution.....the problem will NEVER be the solution....this country never had a trillion dollar national debt until the Raygun republicans....only 35 years later, after three republican presidents, and five republican congresses, the national debt is $19 trillion.
