[budwiesest]

"Digging out a skunk is a dirty, smelly business.

No doubt, but weren't the average joes worried about the tactics used at the time? I mean, did this guy go about to extract skunks while messing up a few other's dens? Note: my history may either be lacking or twisted by recent interpretation.

[DPB101]

No doubt, but weren't the average joes worried about the tactics used at the time?

Not at all. McCarthy had high approval ratings. Only in NYC and Hollywood, mainly, was there concern--and those people were supporters of Stalin. Check out page 101.

[nopardons]

No, the " average Joe ", who had never fclirted nor joined the Communist Party/ one of their fronts was more than delighted with the investigation and McCarthy , believe it or not, was a HERO to most.

[DPB101]

oops..thought you had the book. Page 101 of Treason:

At the height of the left's counterattack against McCarthy...Americans told pollsters they approved of the job he was doing by 50 to 29 percent....his approval rating was 63 percent...Catholics supported McCarthy by 56 to 29 percent;Protestants supported him by 45 to 36 percent. To the eternal annoyance and bewilderment of McCarthy assistant Roy Cohn, Jews opposed McCarthy by 82 to 3 percent.

[Spirited]

Nopardons and DPB101 have already answered this but I want to add my affirmation. McCarthy went after those highly placed enough to introduce more of their kind into authoritative places. The "average" guy who knew what a Commie was was not in favor of having them in those positions.

That is why the media was so heavily employed to form the opinions of the people (bring confusion). They frightened people into believing that they might lose their jobs even if they were innocent. (And some knew of cases like the one Hildy has cited.) It took a long time for common people to "clam up" but the media had made support of him to appear traiterous.

The Irish communities supported him for obvious reasons, the Polish, Ukranian, Lithuanian and other such American ethnic groups supported him because they knew first hand that the ideology had been the reason for their escape and the death knoll for their peoples. (Although Poland was treated worse in many respects by the Nazis.)

The oldest people in the lower and middle classes with ethnicity from other nations went to their graves still believing he was a hero but they couldn't convince their public school, college educated children and grandchildren that they were right. They had willingly given their sons in WWII because of this very threat so they knew, oh, how they knew.

Ann Coulter's work has vindicated them, so they needn't roll in their graves anymore but those progeny may never get to read, see or understand it because the "right" or "in" thing to be is liberal if America has made something of you.

We are a nation largely blinded by deception and I sincerely pray that God will mercifully see that the books and articles which bring truth will turn around the empty-headedness which is in danger of rotting out the heart of America.