Do We Need Another Joe McCarthy?

The short answer to the title is: "No!" But aspects of McCarthy’s anti-Communist actions provide lessons to all of us about what can happen when we are fearful about the stability of our nation. It’s helpful to know why McCarthy’s maneuvers were so devastating to our country, but also what we can learn from his experience that could guide us today.

Joe McCarthy started as an undistinguished senator, but quickly rose to prominence when he gave a speech announcing that 205 communists had infiltrated the State Department. He wasn’t able to produce evidence of a “card-carrying communist,” but many Americans were attracted to the Communist ideology. He wasn’t discouraged from finding Communists in the government, to the detriment of many people’s lives:

Although he failed to make a plausible case against anyone, his colorful and cleverly presented accusations drove some persons out of their jobs and brought popular condemnation to others. The persecution of innocent persons on the charge of being communists and the forced conformity that the practice engendered in American public life came to be known as McCarthyism. Meanwhile, other government agencies did, with less fanfare, identify and prosecute cases of communist infiltration. (italics are mine)

On December 2, 1954, the Senate censured him on a vote of 67-22, bringing his reign of paranoia to an end. Today we condemn McCarthy’s methods, but did he have a point about the infiltration of Communism?

Now Socialism has raised its ugly head, and it’s becoming clear that it is just another label for Communism. Its roots go back to the 1850s, when plenty of people were looking for a way to make their way in this country. The formation of unions seemed to be a solution:

The roots of socialism in America can be traced to the arrival of German immigrants in the 1850s when Marxian socialist unions began, such as the National Typographic Union in 1852, United Hatters of 1856, and Iron Moulders Union of North America in 1859. Theodore H. White, author of Fire in the Ashes: Europe in Mid-Century (1953) wrote, ‘Socialism is the belief and the hope that by proper use of government power, men can be rescued from their helplessness in the wild cycling cruelty of depression and boom.’

Although today some unions are declining in popularity, socialism has continued to grow.

Some people may be surprised to know that although the Russians are not blatantly exerting pressure to adopt socialism/Marxism in this country, they planned long ago to infiltrate our government system with Marxist ideas. A former KGB agent explained how this infiltration might take place:

In 1984, Bezmenov gave an interview to G. Edward Griffin from which much can be learned today. His most chilling point was that there’s a long-term plan put in play by Russia to defeat America through psychological warfare and ‘demoralization.’ It’s a long game that takes decades to achieve but it may already be bearing fruit. Bezmenov made the point that the work of the KGB mainly does not involve espionage, despite what our popular culture may tell us. Most of the work, 85% of it, was ‘a slow process which we call either ideological subversion, active measures, or psychological warfare.’

What does that mean? Bezmenov explained that the most striking thing about ideological subversion is that it happens in the open as a legitimate process. ‘You can see it with your own eyes,’ he said. The American media would be able to see it—if it just focused on it.

Bezmenov stated that it would take 15-20 years to re-educate a generation of students in Marxist thinking. Then destabilization would take place in various parts of our country—the economy, the schools, the government, foreign relations and defense systems; we may be in the middle of this process. Bezmenov then predicted that a “crisis” would occur, which he described as “a violent change of power, structure, and economy.” Normalization would then follow.

Byron York of the Washington Examiner has stated that the Socialists are determined to use the Democratic Party to gain traction and will eventually work to destroy the current leadership. So, although Joe McCarthy was destructive to this country in the way he pursued his anti-Communist goals, he may have had a point.

It’s time we found a way to stop the Socialists before they not only destroy the Democrat Party but also destroy this country.

[originally published in American Thinker]