Palin's Red Menace (Is Palinism the new McCarthyism?)

Washington comPost ^ | 8/18/2009 | Richard Cohen

[SeekAndFind]

Try this on for size: Palinism. What is it? It is an updated version of McCarthyism, which takes its name from the late Sen. Joseph McCarthy, the Wisconsin liar, demagogue and drunk, and means, according to Wikipedia, "reckless, unsubstantiated accusations, as well as demagogic attacks on the character or patriotism of political adversaries." As far as we know, Sarah Palin is not a drunk.

But she certainly shares McCarthy's other attributes -- and this one as well: the ability to drive the debate. In McCarthy's day, it was anti-communism coupled with national security, and it hardly mattered that he frequently did not have his facts straight. He got huge amounts of attention anyway.

With Palin, the subject is health care, which in many ways is the Red Menace of our day and lends itself to a kind of political pornography. For sheer disregard of the facts, her statement about President Obama's "death panel" has to rank with McCarthy's announcement that "I have here in my hand a list of 205" (or 57 or 72 or whatever) names of communists in the State Department. They were both false -- McCarthy's by commission, Palin's probably by omission. She rarely knows her facts.

The most depressing aspects of McCarthy's career were not just the excesses of the man himself but the refusal of others -- mainly his fellow Republicans -- to either rein him in or defend his victims. Now we are seeing something similar with Palin. Say what you will about any of the health-care proposals, not one of them suggests a "death panel" empowered to withhold medical services from the aged or those with disabilities. To suggest that one exists is reprehensible. To state it outright is either boldly demagogic or just plain loopy.

[Bitsy]

I believe McCarthy was mostly correct. Communists were infiltrating the State Department, Universities, Hollywood, and the media ...

Yep, and the communists are still here but their influence is much greater now and well embedded in our young Americans.

[Always Right]

LOL, I must live in some strange parallel universe, but isn’t it Sarah Palin who has been viciously attacked by the media and big government politicians? All Sarah has is a little old Facebook account and all of a sudden she is Joseph McCarthy? These people are mentally disturbed.

[andy58-in-nh]

Yes, Richard Cohen: you've got us nailed. It's all a nefarious right-wing plot to take over the world and prevent witty, urbane, big-city reporters who talk loudly in restaurants from getting all the fame, money and tail they deserve. The aren't any Communists. Never were. Uh-uh. Alger Hiss was a boy scout and the Rosenbergs were just passing their favorite borscht recipes to the Russkies.

Your side "won", and you get to write history now. So go ahead: put Sarah Palin at the center of your great global conspiracy because as dumb as she is, she's just fiendishly clever enough to pull it off. Now go take your Thorazine and read Kuttner's column in the Huffington Post; it's a good one about how Obama has been "too bipartisan" and that Rahm Emmanuel's a pussy - far too nice to those evil Republicans. It'll leave you drooling for more. Or maybe that's just the drugs at work; you all seem to be on them these days.

[jazminerose]

Firt, Palin is a private citizen.

Second, MCarthy was indeed about 98% correct, that info has been public since 1995 when the Verona cables were released.

Nobody other than Coulter & M Stanton Evans will talk about it tho.

McCarthy also was only interested in Soviet operatives in GOVERNMENT, not stupid hollywood morons. That was the HOUSE Un American Activities committee. McCarthy was a senator.

I am up to here with the lies about McCarthy who was a great patriot who drank himself to death after being Palinized by libtards.

[Senator John Blutarski]

Ted Kennedy - cheat, murderer, moral coward, drunk.

Glass houses.

[El Cid]

Re: 21
Yep, and the communists are still here but their influence is much greater now and well embedded in our young Americans.

They certainly have... We have a generation that doesn't even question the premise that Government should have as much control over people's lives as they do today. And how that doesn't square with our Constitution (which they no longer teach in today's schools). Marxists are infested throughout Washington DC, and they have the media running cover for them.
This health care debacle is just the latest egregious attempt to turn more power over to the State...

[JaneNC]

Yes, McCarthy was correct.

[saganite]

according to Wikipedia, “reckless, unsubstantiated accusations, as well as demagogic attacks on the character or patriotism of political adversaries.”

Remarkably this is exactly what politicians and the press are doing to people who object to Obama’s policies. Talk about projection.

[tcrlaf]

History has proven Joe McCarthy was RIGHT in his claims, but for generations of American students, the name Joe McCarthy and not Joe Stalin has been synonymous with evil.

He DARED to speak truth to power, and when he let his ego outrun his ability, they crucified him.

[El Cid]

McCarthy also was only interested in Soviet operatives in GOVERNMENT, not stupid hollywood morons. That was the HOUSE Un American Activities committee. McCarthy was a senator.

Thanks for the correction. I bought Evans's book on McCarthy - but I have not yet had time to read it. Mr. McCarthy was correct in his assessment about the State Department - and their philosophical progeny that now run the House and the Senate... But I believe the communist infiltration of 'non-government' areas, such as the media and Hollywood, has led to our acquiescence of the caliber of leaders we elect... When the airways constantly drum the message of 'America bad', 'Rest of the world good', 'Capitalism evil', 'Socialism (or a dressed up word for the same) good' -- it eventually has its effect...

[what's up]

So Pelosi, Reid and Oshama have been calling ordinary citizens, "evil", "demogogues", and "UNAMERICAN" and Palin's the one likened to McCarthy?

Right.

[Tanniker Smith]

And Richard Cohen is Stalin and Goebbels are rolled into one.

[Deb]

Gee, I guess since Hitler has already been used, the next most hated villain to attack conservatives with is McCarthy. Nothing like overkill to make a point.

And they wonder why journalism is dead.

[bilhosty]

I used to consider this columnist to be on eof the more saner members of the MSM and used to read his columns regularly. As you can see I said “he used to be”. I no longer read them.

[MrB]

A cry of “McCarthyism” is simply another one of the “shut up” lines used by the left. Of course, their favorite is “racism”,

but we’re outright telling them to shove the race card right up where the sun don’t shine.

[NavyCanDo]

So much for Palin fading into history following her stepping down as Governor. The liberals are more afraid of her than ever now. Attaching an izm to her name is one more sign that they scared.

[tarheelswamprat]

Try this on for size: Palinism. What is it? It is an updated version of McCarthyism, which takes its name from the late Sen. Joseph McCarthy, the Wisconsin liar, demagogue and drunk...

Try this on for size: Obamaism. What is it? It is an updated version of Stalinism, which takes its name from the late Joseph Stalin, the Soviet liar, demagogue, tyrant and mass murderer...

[chris_bdba]

Except that years later McCarty was proven to be right by declassified government documents!

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

He’s everything that Todd Palin is not...

[texmexis best]

The infiltration starting in the FDR administration and continued apace afterwards. FDR was confronted with a list of names of Soviet spies and he just laughed at the FBI and told them to go away.

Some interesting names on the list including the father of Harold Ickes Jr. who was FDR’s advisor at Yalta. The Venona papers uncovered that link, but it wasn’t the only one.