Happy! - Nov 14 (Tailgunner Joe)

Subject: RE: Happy! - Nov 14 (Tailgunner Joe)
From: GUEST,Joe_F
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 08:40 PM

Well, no. He resembled Hitler in two instructive ways: He was a mendacious demagogue who exploited people's fear of Communism, and he got away with it longer than he should have because respectable people thought they could use him.

But look at the difference: In McCarthy's case, the respectable people were right. He was pretty much self-limiting. They let him rant until he had made enough respectable enemies, and then they got rid of him. It didn't take a war to bring him down; all it took was a senator & a college president with some residual decency.

The other day I was reading a review of some books about Mao, which was decorated with a picture of him & Nixon. That inspired me to think a wicked, nay patriotic, thought: We are lucky to live in a country where Nixon counts as a nasty politician. The same might be said with McCarthy in Nixon's place.

--- Joe Fineman    [e-mail]

||: In German there are no regular nouns, and in psychology there are no normal minds. :||

Subject: RE: Happy! - Nov 14 (Tailgunner Joe)
From: alanabit
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 02:14 PM

A piece of worthless trash, who would be better forgotten. He probably caused more direct damage to his homeland than Hitler did.

Subject: RE: Happy! - Nov 14 (Tailgunner Joe)
From: kendall
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 01:47 PM

Another lying phony bastard.

Subject: RE: Happy! - Nov 14 (Tailgunner Joe)
From: Tannywheeler
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 01:24 PM

Re: list of facts.
Not to mention the folks whose minds and hearts were so mangled by the persecution that they committed suicide. He's got a lot to answer for.             Tw

Subject: RE: Happy! - Nov 14 (Tailgunner Joe)
From: sapper82
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 09:22 AM

Very ironic that subsequent revelations from former Soviet archives have shown how much the CPUSA actually was controlled by Moscow.

Subject: Happy! - Nov 14 (Tailgunner Joe)
From: Abby Sale
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 08:27 AM


Happy Birthday!

Tailgunner Joe McCarthy

was born 11/14/1908
(d. May 2, 1957)

He became chairman of the Government Committee on Operations of the Senate and of its permanent subcommittee on investigations. He energetically & persistantly investigated various government departments and individuals suspected Communist affiliations. Although he failed to make a plausible case against anyone, his colourful and cleverly presented accusations drove some persons out of their jobs and brought popular condemnation to others. He brought the US back to it's place as a world contender in the persecution of the innocent and/or nonconformist and/or socially committed. Although a Senator, we still fondly join him in our hearts as the icon of the House UnAmerican Committee. His damage done, and when the Republicans lost control of the Senate in 1954, McCarthy was replaced as chairman of the investigating committee. Soon after, the Senate felt secure enough to formally condemn him on a vote of 67 to 22 for conduct "contrary to Senate traditions," and McCarthy was largely ignored by his colleagues and by the media thereafter.

[Fact bits from Ency Brit 2003 – opinions mine]

          "Are you now or have you ever been,
          Were you ever sympathetic or interested in?
          When did you start, how long did it last,
          Tell us all about your interesting past—
          Answer yes or no!"
  
                  "Talking Unamerican Blues," by Betty Sanders and Irwin Silber;
                  see DigTrad

Copyright © 2005, Abby Sale - all rights reserved
What are Happy's all about? See Clicky