Republicans Facing another Joe McCarthy Moment

Oct. 31, 2017

5:16 p.m.

Photo credit: National Archives

Marquette Law's alumnus (1935) U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy

Wisconsin was at the center of the Republicans’ original Joe McCarthy moment. That was the first time the party had to decide whether to take a stand against one of its own for brazenly dishonest political demagoguery that crossed all boundaries of decency and threatened democracy itself. Many of us have been waiting since January to see how long it would take modern-day Republicans to admit they’re facing another such moment.

Republicans barely passed their first political test back in 1954. Republican U.S. Senators split 22 to 22—with half of them joining 44 Democrats and one independent to approve, 67 to 22, a resolution censuring Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy for his fabricated accusations of rampant treason by supposed communists operating within the Eisenhower administration and the U.S. Army. That vote ended McCarthy’s career and the shameful McCarthy Era that inflamed hatred, smearing anyone on the political left in this country as un-American. Blacklists destroyed lives and careers in government, education, entertainment and industry with cruel abandon.

Will GOP Stand against Trump’s Indecency?

When Donald Trump began winning support for the party’s nomination in early 2016, many conservatives began identifying it as another Joe McCarthy moment for Republicans. But any hope Republicans would stand up against Trump’s open bigotry, indecency and constant stream of political lies ended when bigotry, indecency and lies worked like a charm and won the presidency for the Republicans. Even House Speaker Paul Ryan, embarrassed by Trump’s obvious appeals to bigotry instead of employing traditional Republican code words, obediently embraced Trump to pass his tea-party wish list.

But that was nine long months ago. Since then, Trump has demonstrated his inability to pass much of anything. The downside of that good fortune is having a president who is dangerously unstable, virulently racist, morally unfit, personally nasty and childishly self-deluded with the power to blow up the world at any moment. But, finally, respectable, conservative Republicans are speaking right out loud about the clear and present danger Trump poses to the country and to democracy.

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So far, it’s four Republicans who no longer worry about being elected or reelected, but they’re solid conservatives with strong credentials: George W. Bush, the last Republican president; Arizona Sen. John McCain, a presidential nominee and war hero nearing the end of his life; Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, who previously ran the Goldwater Institute—a conservative think tank promoting the ideas of 1964 presidential nominee Barry Goldwater who’s considered the father of the modern conservative movement; and Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Flake, who decided not to run for reelection after his party turned on him for denouncing Trump’s trashing of American values, was openly critical of Republicans who privately agree with him but remain cowardly silent and complicit. “When the next generation asks us, ‘Why didn’t you do something? Why didn’t you speak up?’ what are we going to say?” Flake asked. “Mr. President, I rise to say, ‘Enough!’” He continued: “We must never adjust to the present coarseness of our national dialogue with the tone set at the top. We must never regard as normal the regular and casual undermining of our democratic norms and ideals. We must never meekly accept the daily sundering of our country. The personal attacks. The threats against principles, freedoms and institutions. The flagrant disregard for truth and decency.”

Bush against Bullying

Bush, better known for wisecracks than public eloquence, forcefully denounced the degrading of presidential discourse. “Bullying and prejudice in our public life sets a national tone, provides permission for cruelty and bigotry,” he declared. “Bigotry or white supremacy in any form is blasphemy against the American creed.”

If those things really are what many Republicans say privately, you couldn’t prove it by their eager attempts to trivialize all such deadly serious alarms. “All this stuff you see on a daily basis—Twitter this and Twitter that—forget about it,” Ryan said dismissively.

“If we were all to chase every squirrel that comes running along in the form of a personal dispute or a mischaracterization of someone’s integrity or intent,” Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee seconded, “Congress wouldn’t have any time to govern.” Well, what if it’s a rabid pack of demon squirrels devouring the fundamental principles of American democracy? Corker’s concern about Trump’s reckless attacks launching World War III is hardly inconsequential.

Many Republicans are terrified to cross Trump now. They’re desperate to pass tax cuts to prove they can pass something, anything, before the 2018 elections, and Trump’s dishonest rhetoric could sabotage the legislation at any time. Their tax plan already is in trouble with the National Association of Home Builders launching full-scale war against threats to homeowner deductions for mortgage interest payments and property taxes. Continued failure might be the best thing that ever happened to Republicans. It would free more of them to start telling the truth about Trump at this Joe McCarthy moment before he brings the whole party crashing down.

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Comments (3)

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mentioning McCarthy is a diversion

McCarthy was an embarrassment, but also highlights the truth about the GOP's requirement of "unquestioning loyalty", stay focused on putting down those who don't blindly support the flag, who don't 100% support the CEO-Trump. It's like the Wizard of Oz saying "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain", just watch all the wiz-bang FX and look where the well-planned pageantry wants you to look (tweets, press releases, no dissent). I am sure Business Owners liked this too, they never liked 2 of FDR's "Four Freedoms" from his 1941 State of the Union address. Freedoms of Speech and Worship did not limit business, but Freedoms from Want and Fear (covering poverty and job security) was a non-starter to the top 1%, that is really how money is "made" (moved to their pocket).

Joel does rightfully call out George Bush himself in the remark on bullying... "Bullying and prejudice in our public life sets a national tone, provides permission for cruelty and bigotry," he declared. "Bigotry or white supremacy in any form is blasphemy against the American creed." -- some said Bush was "too left-wing" for the comforts of the Republican base, the poor part of the GOP, that is.

Way to go Joel, stop preaching to the choir (the Democratic choir is shrinking, slowly being discouraged from participating in politics), and get back to what Wisconsin people really care about, setting up their own small world free of controversy, outside interference and difference of opinion. -- Yes, that does mean keeping "them" out of "our" stomping ground. So how can the good of democracy, freedoms, fair and equal treatment be extended to all Americans? Let's see some articles how letting "them" survive can still let each community feel safe, free and pure?

I still maintain that people often think of a Republican as being the "Party of Business Management", bordering on "Party of the Rich", and thinking of a Democrat as "Party of the Worker", bordering on "Party of the Poor". Civil Rights actually made that distinction worse, by putting attention on the bigot's idea of "the people who are supposed to STAY poor."

But all rational thinking stops when a race-bigot sees or hears a dog-whistle hint of color, that is why it is called "dog-whistle politics", what Reagan used so well.

IMHO, Reagan used that as a way to draw in the working poor white vote away from Pro-Labor Democrat votes, and he let the wealthy use his Republican party. The whole concept of a dramatic reduction of taxes on the wealthy began then and there, "Trickle down" was letting the rich be the only way to get voluntary redistribution down through private favoritism and business deals, even if it meant taking that money overseas. The lower ranks of the white American workers saw this as "Let me use favoritism to choose who NOT to spend MY money on... (like blacks.)" Now it is also "let me build 'walls' against 'them'."

SE Wisc. Citizen more than 7 years ago

The Joe McCarthy they don't teach in school

Famed attorney Edward Bennett Williams demolished the senate kangaroo court charges against McCarthy, but it wasn't a court of law, it was the senate swamp, and there was the absurdity of two remaining charges -- alleged not cooperating with a minor Democrat investigation four years earlier, and of arguing with certain vile belligerent Democrats in the Senate.
Attorney for the Army Joseph Welch was no champion.
And it wasn’t a case of a lone Senator Joseph R. McCarthy versus the Army. Rather, whistleblowers in the Army had come to McCarthy for help.
In 1954, the subject of 35 Red moles at the sprawling Fort Monmouth complex in New Jersey had some in the Army leadership on the ropes. McCarthy’s committee was at its best. The Swamp had been losing the battle to cover up Russian subversion of our government left over from Roosevelt and Truman. Eisenhower was hopping mad – not about subversion but about McCarthy.
Still, credit the Eisenhower administration including Attorney General Brownell for following along with McCarthy's efforts by kicking out thousands of subversives living off the federal payroll.
Then the establishment exposed McCarthy staff attorney Roy Cohn for taking a shine to G. David Schine in seeking special privileges for Schine's Army enlistment.
At first glance, it wasn't a good move by McCarthy when he lost his temper and brought up at Army-McCarthy hearings the subject of Welch's associate Fred Fisher having been a past member of the communist-front National Lawyers Guild.
Yet it was Welch himself earlier in the April 15, 1954 New York Times who first outed Fisher!
The Left always leaves out McCarthy’s response, “Mr. Welch talks about this being cruel and reckless. He was just baiting; he has been baiting Mr. Cohn here for hours…”
Welch had been gay-baiting Cohn on national television, talking about “fairies.”
It turns out that Welch welched on a pre-hearing agreement where he wouldn’t bring up the brilliant young prosecutor Roy Cohn’s homosexuality in return for McCarthy’s silence on Fisher.

Peter B. Hrycenko more than 7 years ago

Bigotry is common

I hate to say it, but I think the vast majority of Republicans, particularly the ones lower down on the income scale, are bigots. If the rest of the GOP will turn against Trump, then there will be Primary challenges to those Republicans.

If Charles Franklin of Marquette or Pew Research wants to poll for this, ask people if they will vote for the candidate more likely to end Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity than any other Republican issue. I think the poll result will surprise us. It is not that they did not want Hillary, it is more that Hillary was definitely not on the path to end Civil Rights.

Obama's win in 2008 and 2012 proved that being a minority no longer is so small that their vote does not matter... and that is a threat to normal white dominance (I cannot call it "white privilege" because no white person will ever think of themselves as being privileged. All they can admit is "I'm glad I am not a minority, because I know how my majority peers treat minorities".)

SE Wisc. Citizen more than 7 years ago