You're memory is either faulty, or you're relying on what you read about him and his work in naming stinking Commies in the government,in the newspapers and heard on T.V,; all of which was lies.
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."