McCarthy kept this country safe.
LMAO
Do try to read a little history and get the facts right.
McCarthy accused and/or investigated many, many people who had been previously accused or investigated by others. He had the attention of the entire nation. And what did he do with it?
Tell me please... of the spies, subversives or card-carrying communists in the U.S. government that he investigated and/or accused, how many did he send to jail?
How many did he have expelled from their positions in the government?
Not my idea of keeping this country safe.
In fact, he was so thoroughly inept at his "job" and failed on many occasions to provide complete, irrefutable evidence that he promised would support his accusations that he actually helped one of the so-called spies, subversives and card-carrying communists.
Take, for example, the case of Annie Lee Moss. This was a middle-aged black woman who had been the subject of past investigations. McCarthy focused on an FBI memo that other investigators had used: one Annie Lee Moss (a worker in an Army cafeteria) had been transferred to the position of code clerk for the Army Signal Corps and had been given security clearance. McCarthy also had the testimony of an FBI undercover operative, Mary Stalcup Markward, who pegged Moss as a member of the Washington, D.C., Communist Party. In addition, before the hearing, three Democrat senators---John McClellan (Ark.), Stuart Symington (Mo.), and Henry Jackson (Wash.)---were fully briefed by the FBI, which had thorough documentation that the Moss subpoenaed to testify was indeed the same person in question and that she was a Communist.
Now refer to the transcript or watch the footage of the hearing with McCarthy and you will see how totally inept the man was at his "job."
Moss’ appearance was that of a frightened woman, clad in a frayed black coat, a tiny hat perched on her head.
McCarthy clearly defined his important goal: “Mrs. Moss, let me say for the record that you are not here because you are considered important in the Communist apparatus. We have the testimony that you are or have been a Communist. We are rather curious, however, to know how you suddenly were shifted from a worker in a cafeteria to the code room.”
Moss was asked to read the notice suspending her from her job. She starts to read slowly then gives up after the word “adjudication” defeated her. She is then questioned if she had ever heard of “Karl Marx.” She answers, “Who’s that?” Asked about espionage, her lawyer had to explain to her that the word meant spying. All this time McCarthy is looking nervous himself. Then it is revealed that Moss did not code or encode messages. She fed already coded tapes into a transmitting machine.
A tier of U.S. senators arrayed against Moss now begin to question the evidence that the accuser, McCarthy and his team, has compiled. A new, major issue appears: it is one of mistaken identity. Seems there is more than one Annie Lee Moss in Washington, DC. But Moss, in her testimony, actually clears up the confusion regarding her identity.
At this point, McCarthy had not succeeded in accomplishing his stated goal: “We are rather curious, however, to know how you suddenly were shifted from a worker in a cafeteria to the code room.” In fact, he had lost control of the hearing.
Inexplicably, what he said next shocked most onlookers: “I am afraid, I am going to have to excuse myself. I’ve got rather an important appointment tonight which I have got to work on right away.”
And he left the hearing.
Some of this footage would be used on Murrow’s March 16,
See It Now broadcast in which he devoted the hour to the Annie Lee Moss investigation. Some ignorant people have written that Murrow defended Moss on this show. Apparently, those clods have never seen the show. If they did, they would have realized that Murrow did not defend Moss. In fact, in his closing remarks, he stated that “…nor this reporter know or claim that Mrs. Moss was or is not a Communist. Their claim was simply that she had the right to meet her accusers face to face.”
So this begs the question: When Moss met this accuser, Joe McCarthy, face to face, what was the result?
Answer: Joe encountered some heat in the form of questioning his evidence. He excused himself, never to investigate Moss again.
McCarthy did not "keep this country safe" in the case of Annie Lee Moss. In fact, Joe's inaction and failure to thoroughly investigate Annie Lee Moss allowed this member of the Communist Party to be reinstated to a U.S. government job with access to sensitive information.
Updated: Six months later, Moss was suspended based on information from a new investigation conducted by different people. In January ’55, she was reinstated, but this time in a “nonsensitive” position. Three years later, the Subversive Activities Control Board issued a report stating that, in the 1940s, Moss had been a member of the Communist Party.
reply
share
mcfaddensflats
12 years ago
BerkSol
Senators do not "send people to jail". I'm sure you must know that. In McCarthy's case he raised issues of security in the federal government and held hearings in 1953-4. Numerous individuals were either removed from government service or put into less sensitive posts due to issues raised by McCarthy and others about federal employees. What is also certain is that security was tightened considerably in matters of federal government personnel as a result of the activities of McCarthy and like minded politicians. Moss is an example of just that. If you were unaware of this it's not surprising, as people have been consistently misled about this business by the media and educators for half a century. Many of these "sources" are simply ignorant of the facts (McCarthy rampaging through Hollywood is one of their most colossal boners, but people believe it because they've been told it so many times, though it is complete rubbish as a 5 minutes check on the internet would show them) and have no interest in questioning the "received wisdom" (in a few cases they do know the realities but consciously dissemble about them).
Moss lied to the committee. It wasn't, as you contend, McCarthy who helped Moss through ineptitude or otherwise, it was Sen. Stuart Symington, a PSI committee Democrat(and to a lesser extent Sen. Jackson and Sen. McClellan) with his speculations about her not being the right Annie Lee Moss/doubting any communist affiliations. Rather than having all the committee against her, Moss had allies, Symington especially, lined up with her - look the transcripts of Symington's interventions ("I think you are telling the truth"). All the senators had been briefed by the FBI intel on Moss prior to the hearing and so the attitude of Symington especially looks very strange. It probably has its basis in the war cranking up between McCarthy, Cohn and the Army, embarrassed by such security lapses being exposed by the committee and preparing to hit back - Symington was already lining up with the Army against McCarthy, something that became very public during the Army-Carthy hearings. Symington went so far in his advocacy of Annie Lee Moss he told her he would get her a job if she lost hers due to appearing before the committee (she was then on suspension). In 1955 the Army took Moss back - but they put her into a non sensitive position. Later Symington would backtrack on his defense of Moss. The committee did have the right woman and her presence in the Pentagon code room represented a serious security breach by the Army, but you wouldn't know that from the myths which have been spread about the case ever since by anti McCarthy/red "scare" polemicists.
As to McCarthy leaving the Moss hearing, he did indeed have a prior appointment and had to leave - a not unheard of practice during hearings - nothing to to with him not being able to stand the heat. Moss wasn't there to face an "accuser", one man, Joe McCarthy, she was there to be questioned by a Senate committee of which McCarthy was chairman. Karl Mundt, next ranking Republican, took over as acting chairman, as he did during the Army hearings soon after.
So, it was Symington more than anyone else who initially muddied the waters to make Moss "appear" a "witch hunted" innocent, let her off the hook. And the muddying has gone on ever since - Murrow using it to belabor McCarthy in his "See it now" broadcast" in 1954, Clooney using it 50 years later.
I don't know of any evidence that Moss was a "spy", but having the kind of communist party links she had she should rightly have been considered a "security risk" and not have been in the Pentagon code room. Your quote from Mc Carthy at the hearing actually encapsulates what most concerned him - not so much "is x a communist /security risk", but why has a communist/security risk been placed in a sensitive post and who was responsible. In fact, the Moss case you quote is a classic illustration of why Senate and HOR hearings were necessary, as the Army/loyalty boards/public officials etc failed time and again to deal with those who had security issues in sensitive federal posts. Alger Hiss is one of the most famous - Hiss carving out a great career in government despite the sound security warnings about him. John Stewart Service of the State department is an example of a case McCarthy correctly raised which had been whitewashed and fumbled during the Truman administration. Then there was the influence of communist lining Mao promoter Prof.Owen Lattimore, China guru to the State Department under FDR and Truman. McCarthy and Sen. William E Jenner's committee exposed Lattimore's role, but by then China was communist and millions of Chinese people would be slaughtered and starved to death by Lattimore's friendly "democratic" "agrarian reforming" Maoists.
McCarthy didn't always call it right and made errors (which politician doesn't!), but he wasn't the demon king of political legend. The truth about the "red scare" is more complex than the pervasive mythology which surrounds it has misled people into believing.
reply
share
BerkSOL
12 years ago
In McCarthy's case he raised issues of security in the federal government and held hearings in 1953-4. Numerous individuals were either removed from government service or put into less sensitive posts due to issues raised by McCarthy and others about federal employees.
McCarthy jumped on the Red Scare bandwagon and, in many cases, asked to spearhead numerous committee investigations that were ongoing or just beginning. This was rather odd since McCarthy had little to no experience investigating such matters. Many have called it a political move to further his career. The press was dazzled by his ever-shifting charges of the number of communists in the State Dept. after Wheeling. But as one accusation after another collapsed for lack of evidence, McCarthy began to lose face. He needed an Ann Lee Moss. He clearly botched the investigation and proceedings, which allowed Moss, a communist, to continue operating and working in our government. McCarthy was certainly one of the most inept investigators during that period. Claiming that he had evidence against people that he never produced damaged the entire process. As in the case of Dorothy Kenyon (and many others), he recklessly made charges and claimed he had evidence, which, in fact, he never produced. These charges ruined innocent people's lives.
Security was tightened considerably in matters of federal government personnel as a result of the activities of McCarthy.
Your statement is semi-misleading. It was the Age of Suspicion BEFORE McCarthy appeared in Washington. Many people had been or were in the process of being investigated by committees, agencies, bureaus, etc. LONG BEFORE Tail-Gunner Joe appeared on the scene. Security was already "tight." The nation's headlines featured government investigations into people charged as being communists or having communist sympathies already working in government positions.
Moss lied to the committee. It wasn't, as you contend, McCarthy who helped Moss through ineptitude or otherwise, it was Sen. Stuart Symington, a PSI committee Democrat(and to a lesser extent Sen. Jackson and Sen. McClellan) with his speculations about her not being the right Annie Lee Moss/doubting any communist affiliations.
Let's get the facts right. You make it appear as though McCarthy simply appeared and disappeared. Wrong. Two days before the Moss hearings, McCarthy released to the press a lengthy worded statement that he would "Lead the investigation" in the Senate Caucus Room and this time he would, "Deliver a Communist spy who worked in the Pentagon code room." It was McCarthy grandstanding yet again. McCarthy had done this repeatedly: assume a leadership position in a committee that was already investigating and/or questioning a person with communist association. I've already (in another post on this board) written a detailed account of that proceeding in which McCarthy---as seen in the tape---appears visibly uncomfortable when the facts of her job---that she did NOT encode or decode messages---were revealed and McCarthy's charges/facts were beginning to crumble. The other senators you wrote about simply QUESTIONED the VALIDITY of McCarthy's and the committee's CHARGES against her. By abruptly leaving the investigation---and ignoring the statement which cleared up her identity and other issues---he created an opening for at least a DELAY in the investigation, which is exactly what occurred. In a later (continuation) investigation---with a competent person at the helm---Moss's identity was resolved (as it should have been that day) and she was removed from her position.
As to McCarthy leaving the Moss hearing, he did indeed have a prior appointment and had to leave - a not unheard of practice during hearings - nothing to to with him not being able to stand the heat.
Wrong. Get the facts right. His next "prior appointment" wasn't until many hours later that evening, when he appeared with Fulton Lewis on the Mutual Broadcasting System to lash out at his critics, especially Murrow. Following his abrupt departure during the Moss proceedings, McCarthy went directly to his office. He had NO scheduled appointments or meetings that afternoon. Period. A CBS (and other news) reporter followed him, attempting to asertain why he left the proceedings so abruptly. It was NOT customary for McCarthy or his aides to simply bolt from a hearing, especially when his charges/accusations and facts were being questioned. To suggest the opposite means you don't know McCarthy or his nature/behavior. In fact, when McCarthy believed he was right in the face of falsehood, he would be combative and vigorously defend his charges, data and facts to the point of keeping people testifying much longer than scheduled/expected. Without question, he left the proceedings because some of the "facts" of the Moss case were in serious doubt. He lost his composure and bolted from the hearing. Pathetic.
I don't know of any evidence that Moss was a "spy", but having the kind of communist party links she had she should rightly have been considered a "security risk" and not have been in the Pentagon code room.
Again, review the facts. Moss was reinstated in her job when the committee had to suspend its investigation, in part, based on her identity, etc. After the investigation commenced again, she was suspened just FIVE MONTHS LATER. In January 1955, she was reinstated, but this time in a "nonsensitive" position. Three years later, the Subversive Activities Control Board issued a report stating that, in the 1940s, Moss had been a member of the Communist Party.
McCarthy didn't always call it right and made errors, but he wasn't the demon king of political legend.
But he didn't simply make "errors." He wasn't simply reckless. He lied about his war service---it was used to exaggerating the truth for personal gain. It was his nature to lie. McCarthy lied repeatedly with respect to charging people and failing to provide promised evidence in support of his charges. By doing so, he ruined countless lives. Certanily you and anyone reading this can discern the difference between a political lie and one that can ruin a person's life. We can look back and reflect. What was disturbing about the far-right hysterics, the "professional" anti-communists, the McCarthyites, was that they turned their hatred inward upon any fellow American who differed from their notion of patriotic purity. They assumed a shrill, self-righteous posture that anyone who questioned a picture-perfect America was somehow disloyal. Most disturbing was how McCarthy was able to charge people without offering any irrefutable proof or, in many cases, no proof at all. The total disregard for the individual's right to a fair hearing, the presumed guilt by accusation.
It is important for anyone seriously interested in the topic of Tail-Gunner Joe McCarthy to read the transcripts and newspaper accounts of the hearings and/or examinations (and the important aftermath) directed by McCarthy and his associates. About twelve years ago, the Senate released five volumes that contained thousands of pages of transcripts from McCarthy’s closed-door, secret, anti-communist hearings. They are fascinating. Roughly 400 Americans were questioned---some would say interrogated---in mostly secret hearings, facing accusations, based sometimes on highly questionable evidence, from McCarthy and his staff about their involvement in communist activities. I suggest you read the stories and examine the people who were called to testify in these hearings. Some of these people were certainly ruined. They lost their jobs or the opportunity of future employment, etc. Some were famous; many were ordinary citizens, including teachers, doctors, etc. In a closed hearing, a NYC teacher could not provide complete answers, according to McCarthy’s demands. In the transcript, McCarthy concluded that the teacher would therefore be discharged from his teaching job. (He was later discharged.) Then he adds, “I assume [gives name of wife] will be discharged too.” Now the wife had not been charged with any wrongdoing or aiding any communist. She was simply married to a man who was charged with “knowing” a communist.
reply
share