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| | The Korean War disrupted the postwar economic boom with military service, shortages, restrictions and cost-of-living inflation which could not help but breed discontent. And through it all the press kept up a constant barrage of "Communists in Washington," "twenty years of treason." <ref>''Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time'', Carroll Quigley, Collier-Macmillan, 1966, pg. 986. ISBN 0-945001-10-X</ref> | | The Korean War disrupted the postwar economic boom with military service, shortages, restrictions and cost-of-living inflation which could not help but breed discontent. And through it all the press kept up a constant barrage of "Communists in Washington," "twenty years of treason." <ref>''Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time'', Carroll Quigley, Collier-Macmillan, 1966, pg. 986. ISBN 0-945001-10-X</ref> |
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| − | ==Criticism of McCarthy's methods== | + | ==Hypocrisy regarding McCarthy's == |
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| − | McCarthy has been criticized for his aggressive use of legislative investigatory powers to probe the Communist sympathies of various government officials.{{fact}} McCarthy made charges of Communist infiltration several government agencies. Critics say McCarthy only uncovered a few Communists. McCarthy had a confrontation with Boston attorney Joseph Welch in televised hearings. Welch demanded that McCarthy name someone who had belonged to a [[Glossary_of_espionage_terms#Fronts_and_cutouts|Communist front]] organization, and then complained that it was cruel, reckless, and indecent to do so. McCarthy named Welch's associate Fred Fisher as a member of the [[National Lawyers Guild]], who Welch himself had previously outed to the NY Times six weeks earlier.[http://www.aim.org/aim_report/A4297_0_4_0_C/]
| + | McCarthy had a confrontation with Boston attorney Joseph Welch in televised hearings. Welch demanded that McCarthy name someone who had belonged to a [[Glossary_of_espionage_terms#Fronts_and_cutouts|Communist front]] organization, and then complained that it was cruel, reckless, and indecent to do so. McCarthy named Welch's associate Fred Fisher as a member of the [[National Lawyers Guild]], who Welch himself had previously outed to the NY Times six weeks earlier.[http://www.aim.org/aim_report/A4297_0_4_0_C/] |
| | Welch dishonestly pretended to be shocked, and famously said, "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?" | | Welch dishonestly pretended to be shocked, and famously said, "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?" |
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| − | A teacher named Julius Hlavaty testified at the VOA hearings, and refused to answer whether he had been a Communist or had tried to recruit students to the Communist Party.<ref>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,806622,00.html</ref> He lost his job as a distinguished public school teacher and had to take a job at Columbia University. Critics say that McCarthy should have ignored Communists making broadcasts on VOA because exposing them might have personally embarrassed them.
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| − | McCarthy questioned the security clearance for a Communist named [[Annie Lee Moss]] who worked in the US Army Signal Corps. Critics say although a CPUSA member she was just a low-level clerk.
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| − | McCarthy never had access to secret Venona evidence about Communist spying, and did not successfully expose the extent of Communist influence in the US government.
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| | ==See also== | | ==See also== |