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Joseph McCarthy - right or wrong?

Was Joseph McCarthy right about Soviet infiltration and communists in the US federal government?

  • Yes

    Votes: 11 19.6%
  • No

    Votes: 45 80.4%

  • Total voters
    56
  • Poll closed .
I'm starting to realize that I've struck a nerve here, a rather sensitive one; gee I wonder why that is? :unsure:
 
Was Joseph McCarthy right about Soviet infiltration and communists in the US federal government?

Although I don't necessarily agree with Joseph McCarthy's approach & tactics in dealing with the problem, I have to wonder if he was right about its existence.

You are greatly confused.

Joseph McCarthy was a Senator. If you don't know the difference between the US Senate and the US House, then now would be a good time to learn.

It was the House Un-American Activities Committee, not the Senate Un-American Activities Committee.

Yes, McCarthy was right and HUAC proves it, but not in the way that you think.

McCarthy was about to expose and out dozens if not 100s of Soviet spies. The purpose of HUAC was classic Psy-Ops Warfare and its goal was to deflect and misdirect McCarthy's investigation by attacking Hollywood film and TV producers, directors and actors. Roy Cohn turned it into a 3-ring circus for that reason.

Washington DC is on the East Coast. Hollywood is on the West Coast. That was the 1950s, not the 2000s with satellite TV trucks. All the TV and newspaper reporters pack up and head out of DC to Hollywood on the West Coast to stalk and interview the Hollywood people accused by HUAC.

The purpose of attacking Hollywood film and TV producers, directors and actors was to sufficiently irk Americans to get them to demand an end to the investigations.

It worked.

From Soviet records released after the so-called fall of the Soviet Union, we know a few things:

1) The Rosenberg spy-ring was much more extensive than Americans were led to believe. It wasn't just a half-dozen Soviet spies, there were more than 100.
2) Ethel and Julius Rosenberg really were Soviet spies.
3) There really was a spy in General Marshal's office as McCarthy claimed, although the identity of that person is still protected. It's widely believed it was Marshal's secretary.
4) As McCarthy claimed, there were Soviet spy-rings operating in the Pentagon, the State Department and the Justice Department. Additionally, there were several smaller spy-rings associated with universities that worked with the Jet Propulsion Labs and Lawrence Livermore Labs (both were responsible for the development of nuclear weapons systems and other military weapons and aircraft programs) that McCarthy was not aware of.
5) Another spy-ring worked Capitol Hill.
 
All of the US adversaries play the long game much better than we do, we are all about instant gratification.
Absolutely correct. Maybe in response to seeing the hardship and sacrifices their parents endured but this kicked in with the Boomers and has accelerated with each generation since.

America is first and foremost an entitled consumer culture, one no longer equipped to think in terms of long game or self denial for the greater good, or in the sense of delayed gratification. Even our religions are consumed like a disposable product.

Oh and yes, McCarthy was a modern day Inquisitor - just as puffed with a fanatic's zeal, and just as misguided.
 
Suppose it was someone who wasn't a pathological liar and a woman who was not happy to defend the murderers of American soldiers - would they have been right about Soviet infiltration and communists in the US federal government?
Are you privy to any information the majority of us don't have? I don't think the drunk A-hole ever named any names.
The actual American Communists were fighting among themselves, whether to follow Stalin, while many wanted to drop any affiliation with Russian Communism, The Stalinist were very Cult like in their refusal to believe the worst about the Russian Dictator.
 
The KGB's infiltration campaign in America in the 1950s was much more successful than its modern successor's meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Joseph McCarthy absolutely did the right thing to stop Soviet infiltration in the government and academic institutions.

All the Drunk A-Hole managed to do is tar a lot of Artists, forcing them out of the open market place.
 
Speaking of innocent people, the Communist Party should never have been outlawed in the land of the free in the first place.
In the early 20th Century American Commies were more worried about workers rights, also the 1st Unions to include African Americans were started by commies..
 
Was Joseph McCarthy right about Soviet infiltration and communists in the US federal government?

Although I don't necessarily agree with Joseph McCarthy's approach & tactics in dealing with the problem, I have to wonder if he was right about its existence.
No. He was a proven liar.
He lied about his war record and forged a letter of commendation from his commanding officer.
 
I'm starting to realize that I've struck a nerve here, a rather sensitive one; gee I wonder why that is? :unsure:
Because the original post is that ****ing stupid.
 
Was Joseph McCarthy right about Soviet infiltration and communists in the US federal government?

Although I don't necessarily agree with Joseph McCarthy's approach & tactics in dealing with the problem, I have to wonder if he was right about its existence.
McCarthy’s only mistake was underestimating the scope of the problem.
 
McCarthy’s only mistake was underestimating the scope of the problem.
McCarthy ruined the lives of a lot of people he disliked because they were educated, smart, wealthy, well liked, famous or a Democrat, a professor, an actor, gay, an artist, liberal. He was a stupid, uneducated mean little jealous man that drank a lot and never understood a problem in his entire life.
 
While there isn't any reason to think that the Communist Party has ever infiltrated the government, there is quite a lot of evidence that the Republican Party has infiltrated it.

The State Department is infested with Republicans. I have here in my hand a list of 215—a list of names of 215 Republicans in the House of Representatives alone. The Republicans pose a much bigger threat than the Communists, and something needs to be done about them. Is there any reason we can't just outlaw the Republican Party as we did with the Communist Party?
 
While there isn't any reason to think that the Communist Party has ever infiltrated the government, there is quite a lot of evidence that the Republican Party has infiltrated it.

The State Department is infested with Republicans. I have here in my hand a list of 215—a list of names of 215 Republicans in the House of Representatives alone. The Republicans pose a much bigger threat than the Communists, and something needs to be done about them. Is there any reason we can't just outlaw the Republican Party as we did with the Communist Party?
The Communist party has infiltrated the Democrat party, which has also infiltrated the government.
 
The Communist party has infiltrated the Democrat party, which has also infiltrated the government.
At last we get to the nut of the troll. Name three communists in the Democratic Party. Also, please throw a definition of communism just so we're all on the same page.
 
The Communist party has infiltrated the Democrat party, which has also infiltrated the government.

That is quite silly. The Communist Party has a completely incompatible political philosophy with the Democratic Party.

And the Democratic Party represents the majority. It is the Republican Party that is an unwanted minority trying to upend our way of life with their radical and dangerous ideas. Why shouldn't we just criminalize the Republican Party and weed out Republican sympathizers to protect ourselves from these enemies within?
 
At last we get to the nut of the troll. Name three communists in the Democratic Party. Also, please throw a definition of communism just so we're all on the same page.
Why don't you name any Democrats who aren't communists & if you want to make demands for a definition of communism, why don't you start by providing what you believe to be the definition?
 
That is quite silly. The Communist Party has a completely incompatible political philosophy with the Democratic Party.
I don't know about that.

And the Democratic Party represents the majority.
No it doesn't.

It is the Republican Party that is an unwanted minority trying to upend our way of life with their radical and dangerous ideas.
The Democrat Party is even more unwanted and minotiry, and the Republican party isn't nearly as bad as the Democrat Party with radical and dangerous ideas. The Democrat party is the party of slavery, KKK, segregation, and continues to be the party of racism even today; it's also the party for the rich which is deceiving many of the non-rich into believing that they're the party for them.

Why shouldn't we just criminalize the Republican Party and weed out Republican sympathizers to protect ourselves from these enemies within?
Exactly what communists want - one party rule.
 
Why don't you name any Democrats who aren't communists & if you want to make demands for a definition of communism, why don't you start by providing what you believe to be the definition?

None of the Democrats serving in the Federal Government are Communists. Communism is a political philosophy that seeks to outlaw the ownership of private property.
 
None of the Democrats serving in the Federal Government are Communists. Communism is a political philosophy that seeks to outlaw the ownership of private property.
That's the direction the Democrats are heading; just take a look at who the Democrat occupant in the WH nominated to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and what she advocates as evidence to support this premise.
 
I don't know about that.

Clearly.

No it doesn't.

It does. Democrats won the presidency and they hold a majority in the House. Even when a Republican wins the presidency, it is against the wishes of the majority of Americans. A Republican candidate hasn't won the popular vote in the last 17 years.

The Democrat Party is even more unwanted and minotiry,

That is just factually incorrect. The Democratic Party has more members than the Republican party, and the Democratic lean among non-members is larger than the Republican lean among non-members.

Exactly what communists want - one party rule.

Well, the Communists may want one-party rule, but they definitely don't want that party to be the Democratic Party.

Mor to the point, is there any reason for the party in power to not just make other parties illegal?
 
That's the direction the Democrats are heading; just take a look at who the Democrat occupant in the WH nominated to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and what she advocates as evidence to support this premise.

Did she advocate making ownership of private property illegal? I'd love to see the source for that.
 
Why don't you name any Democrats who aren't communists & if you want to make demands for a definition of communism, why don't you start by providing what you believe to be the definition?
Because I did not make the assertion in the first place. I cannot possibly evaluate your claim that the Dems are infiltrated by commies unless I know what you mean by communist, and I can't know that unless you tell me. Perhaps you have mistaken me for a mind reader? Shite dude, why bring it up at all if you aren't ready to discuss it? That's the sure sign of a troll.
 
Was Joseph McCarthy right about Soviet infiltration and communists in the US federal government?

Although I don't necessarily agree with Joseph McCarthy's approach & tactics in dealing with the problem, I have to wonder if he was right about its existence.
That someone would actually ask if McCarthy was justified in his actions shows a absolute ignorance of history. The communist boogie man was why we wasted lives and treasury in Vietnam and built up a ridiculous arsenal of nuclear weapons among other things.
 
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