Re:Joseph McCarthy and the Force of Political Falsehoods
by juniper_strong on Friday July 31, 2020 @09:58PM
(#24016659)
> Who did a better job than McCarthy? Quite a few people who did not get any headlines, persons serving in the FBI or in executive departments' security arms
We know from Venona the names of dozens of spies for Stalin in government during this time period. What percentage went to jail due to the efforts of, "persons serving in the FBI or in executive departments' security arms"?
> I think that one should distinguish between persons who once joined the CPUSA, then later thought better of it, and persons actually engaged in espionage
This is true, there is a difference between treason on the one hand, and joining an organization that advocates treason on the other. One carries a death sentence, the other is protected under the US Constitution.
Who did a better job than McCarthy? Quite a few people who did not get any headlines, persons serving in the FBI or in executive departments' security arms.
And I think that one should distinguish between persons who once joined the CPUSA, then later thought better of it, and persons actually engaged in espionage. The US engaged in a certain amount of ritual humiliation of these people, and so won them a degree of sympathy entirely out of proportion to their judgment or character.