09.09.2009 6:37 pm
Modern McCarthyites
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
I saw Julie and Julia this weekend. I didn’t know that Julia Child’s husband was subjected to Senator McCarthy’s effort to purge America of all those so-called subversives back then. But it immediately made me think about today’s political situation and the radical right wing’s accusations of the current administration.
Wikipedia says McCarthyism “is the politically motivated practice of make accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence.” and “McCarthysm soon took on a broader meaning, describing the excesses of similar efforts. The term is also now used more generally to describe reckless, unsubstantiated accusations, as well as demagogic attacks on the character or patriotism of political adversaries.”
Sound familiar thinking about today’s politics? How scary was McCarthy is his day? Plenty scary - but just as scary as these right wingers who are running around making unsubstantiated claims and demagogic attacks of their political adversaries.
Let’s call them what they are - Modern McCarthyites.
George Kleine
Webster Groves
George Kleine:
Unsubstantiated charges are not the sole province of “right wingers.” The person second in the line of succession to the presidency made and is still making many rash and unsupported accusations. Why don’t you take San Fran Nan on too?
–It’s not demagoguery if it’s true.
By the way, how is Van Jones and where did he slither to?
Super,
–I think he signed to be in the next ‘Naughty by Nature video’. They want to do a remix of O.P.P., with a new jingle called Obama’s People’s Party.
Whatever you think of McCarthy[ism], as a government official, he had actual power to sanction. The run-of-the-mill “right winger” does not. I (for example) cannot censor your speech, the Post Dispatch cannot censor your speech; President Obama and Congress could, and - if my guess is right - ultimately will.
Actually, Senator McCarthy wasn’t trying to purge subversives out of anything…he simply held hearings on why the Army was allowing people with questionable credentials to hold sensitive positions within its ranks. Would not any of our present Senators do the same thing if our Army was found to have Al Qaida sympathizers working at the Pentagon? Our current day “McCarthism” seems to be trying to find and indict any intelligence operatives who denied an extra Twinkie to detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
George,
Your right winger crap is just that crap. Maybe if you would actually look into these so aptly named Czar’s that Obama is appointing to oversee all the socialist programs he is trying to iniate, you may recant your comments. Van Jones was just the first to be fully exposed. The next one that needs to go is Mark Lyod (sp?) the FCC Czar who is a self proclaimed communist / marxist and who praises the likes of Hugo Chavez. You can call me whatever you want but these people are traitors to our country and way of life and so is the man who has knowingly appointed them. Oh I know the man who never knew what was going on in his church for 20 years doesn’t know a thing about the Czar’s either. This administration and its closest supportors are nothing more than snake oil communist salesmen. I say round them up and give them a one way ticket to Russia, the country and government they really love.
George Kleine, if you are going to be scared of anything, I think I would let go what happened 60 years ago and start worrying about left wingers biting people’s fingers off now…the Earth Liberation Front blowing up transmission towers in the Northwest….Israel and Iran teeing off on each other here in short order, etc, etc. Maybe Julia Childs’ husband was upset a few decades ago…that may keep you and E.J. Rotert awake at night…but pardon me if I worry a bit more about other stuff going on right now.
George,
Your right winger crap is just that crap. Maybe if you would actually look into these so aptly named Czar’s that Obama is appointing to oversee all the socialist programs he is trying to impose, you may recant your comments. Van Jones was just the first to be fully exposed. The next one that needs to go is Mark Llyod (sp?) the FCC Czar who is a self proclaimed communist / marxist and who praises the likes of Hugo Chavez. You can call me whatever you want but these people are traitors to our country and way of life and so is the man who has knowingly appointed them. Oh I know the man who never knew what was going on in his church for 20 years doesn’t know a thing about the Czar’s either. This administration and its closest followers are nothing more than snake oil communist salesmen. I say round them up and give them a one way ticket to Russia, the country and government they really love. I will be happy to give them all a kick in the butt on the way out and I am sure millions of other Americans feel the same.
George,
Your right winger crap is just that crap. Maybe if you would actually look into these so aptly named Czar’s that Obama is appointing to oversee all the socialist programs he is trying to impose, you may recant your comments. Van Jones was just the first to be fully exposed. The next one that needs to go is Mark Llyod (sp?) the FCC Czar who is a self proclaimed communist / marxist and who praises the likes of Hugo Chavez. You can call me whatever you want but these people are traitors to our country and way of life and so is the man who has knowingly appointed them. Oh I know the man who never knew what was going on in his church for 20 years doesn’t know a thing about the Czar’s either. This administration and its closest followers are nothing more than snake oil communist salesmen. I say round them up and give them a one way ticket to Russia, the country and government they really love. I will be happy to give them all a kick in the butt on the way out and I am sure millions of other Americans feel the same.