NYC was so far left when Rabinowitz was a kid everyone she ever knew probably viewed McCarthy as another Hitler. Those snared by the hearings were mostly from NYC. She no doubt feels the fear she saw among party members and fellow travelers was indicative of how the country as a whole viewed McCarthy.
As Deb says on another thread, Rabinowitz is an old-line Democrat and no conservative. She has enough intellectual honesty to have recognized the outrages involved in the child-sex scandals of past decades. She apparently did some first-rate reporting (before I was paying attention to her) to bring these outrages to the public's awareness. She deserves lots of credit for that. But her attacks on Ann belie some deeper prejudices and flaws that need investigating.
Hey.........just wait a darned minute there ! I don't know how old Dorothy is; however, I WAS in N.Y.C. at this time and
EVERY adult, that I knew, hated Commies, did NOT hate McCarthy, and my extended family and their friends didn't know anyone,
NOT A SINGLE PERSON who was shaking in their boots , had to appear before HUAC, was being investigated, or was a party member/a fellow travellor. And, we weren't the only ones. N.Y.C. wasn't quite the hotbed of far lefties, then, as you assume.
Don't tar, my friend, with shuch a gigantic brush. :-)