Wishing it were not so will not make it go away.
As per Merriam-Webster, McCarthyism
Main Entry: Mc·Car·thy·ism
Pronunciation: m&-'kär-thE-"i-z&m also -'kär-tE-
Function: noun
Etymology: Joseph R. McCarthy
: a mid-20th century political attitude characterized
chiefly by opposition to elements held to be subversive
and by the use of tactics involving personal attacks on
individuals by means of widely publicized
indiscriminate allegations especially on the basis of
unsubstantiated charges; broadly : defamation of
character or reputation through McCarthyite tactics
- McCarthyist adjective
- Mc·Car·thy·ite /-"It/ noun or adjective
IMHO, we should return the favor and call most of the left and the media Stalinist, Communist, etc., when they go with the ad hominem attacks, regardless of the issue, but most especially when they pretend to scientific wisdom as they almost invariably portray the right as Know Nothings and Luddites.
I see your dictionary definition, and raise you one Treason, by Ann Coulter.
She does a masterful job of establishing that McCarthy was not only right, but probably didn't go far enough in his anti-communist crusade.
I recognize that the word has become synonymous with the idea of a witch hunt or smear campaign, but FReepers should know better than to agree with that, however cliché it is. McCarthy was right, and he was a patriot.