Quote:
Originally posted by Spanky
But it seems to me the only people that got nailed were people that refused to critisize the communist party. Here is a party that is being financed by the Soviet Union and is trying to overthrow the US government.
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You're missing the forest for the trees, Spank (as is Coulter).
The evil of McCarthyism was not limited to false accusations. Rather, it was the method he employed, like the one you are using to defend it. He cited tenuous connections between people and organizations, when certain other people also members of those organizations may have had ties to communism or communist thinking. It was the classic smear campaign. (For the modern-day equivalent, think of liberals lumping all members of the Federalist Society into some sort of uber-con group.) McCarthy's objective was not solely the "outing" of those with sympathies to others with left-thinking views, it rather was to chill both speech and association, two values of greater importance to citizens of this country than any other.
If you remember
The Crucible the issue wasn't whether the people were or were not witches, is was the method by which they were accused, tried, and ultimately sentenced to death. It had nothing to do with facts and process, and everything to do with rumors and mob rule.
You ask if anyone was falsely accused. I ask in response whether a single person was convicted of a crime of treason (or similar) arising out of his investigations? I think the answer is no, which also tells you something.
