My memory fails me frequently. However, McCarthy went after some in the creative arts who were less of a Communist than Hillary Clinton and destroyed their careers. McCarthy never quite recovered from the piece that Edward R. Murrow did on him.
McCarthy became a very powerful Senator. But, there is an old adage that I believe and that I think applies. "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
You're now thinking about HUAC, which was the purview of the HOUSE; not the SENATE and McCarthy was a SENATOR!
And the Hollywood Ten, were all stinking Commies, FYI.
Hollywood, like now, was filled with Traitors working to destroy America. The Black List was entirely appropriate.