I think you’re being just a little harsh on the authors. I have many friends who are well-versed in history, and by slip of the tongue similar things have been said.
Yes, he was a Senator. But he is lumped together with HUAC in people’s minds.
It is an error and should have been caught in the edit, but it not integral to the rest of the evidence that is presented (with primary source, photographic documentation).
So I wouldn’t really gripe, unless you want to be a troll about it...
I gripe because "Senator Joseph McCarthy ran the House Un-American Activities Committee and persecuted poor oppressed Hollywood Stalinists" is Leftist stupidity and propaganda. Stanton Evans pointed out how often this ridiculous statement is made in his book Blacklisted by History. It is inexcusable for conservatives or anti-Communists to repeat this tripe.
Even if that's the only mistake in the story, it makes the whole thing look bad.
That was my point. . . I sped read through this. . . and read the "of" as "and". . . because that was who was under attack by the people the author was mentioning.