McCarthy-ism Question

[18-Till-I-Die]

Just a question i felt curious about:

Was their ANY Soviet moles found by Senator McCarthy, or was he just a complete wacko like i hear?

And did the Rosenberg's really spy on anyone, cause it sounds like a load of anti-Jewish BS to me, IMO.

I know this is an odd question but i was watching a show on the History channel and they were talking about it and the smell of BS apologists and anti-semitism struck me.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

And did the Rosenberg's really spy on anyone, cause it sounds like a load of anti-Jewish BS to me, IMO.

Most certainly the Rosenbergs were guilty. Straight Dope article coming right up...

EDIT: Bing bong: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040806.html

Basic gist in case you're lazy: Julius was more guilty than Ethel, and while they probably didn't deserve execution, they most certainly were spying on the US for the Soviets.

[18-Till-I-Die]

And did the Rosenberg's really spy on anyone, cause it sounds like a load of anti-Jewish BS to me, IMO.

Most certainly the Rosenbergs were guilty. Straight Dope article coming right up...

EDIT: Bing bong: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040806.html

Basic gist in case you're lazy: Julius was more guilty than Ethel, and while they probably didn't deserve execution, they most certainly were spying on the US for the Soviets.

Ah thanks, i'll read through it

[Stormbringer]

Just a question i felt curious about:

Was their ANY Soviet moles found by Senator McCarthy, or was he just a complete wacko like i hear?

Yes, there were definitely moles found. Alger Hiss, another famous case, was also guilty, and the subsequent evidence strengthened the case.

[Darth Wong]

Obviously, if you cast around your net as indiscriminately as McCarthy did, you'll catch a few legitimate spies. You'll also catch a lot of people who never did anything other than having an unpopular opinion.

[desertjedi]

Supposedly there were quite a few people that were suspected that left the country immediately after the first few spies were caught.

[Chris OFarrell]

Supposedly there were quite a few people that were suspected that left the country immediately after the first few spies were caught.

*snort* would you stay after being hounded, persicuted, dragged before witch hunts, screamed at to confess or name people and so on?

*I* would have packed my bags and left


McCarthy was a SOB who pissed all over the very freedoms he claimed to protect in pursuit of a non existent conspicary. I would have had him strung up for treason if I could. There were far more effective ways to catch spys that didn't involve blacklisting inocent people who had the courage to stand up and give him the finger.

[Glocksman]

Obviously, if you cast around your net as indiscriminately as McCarthy did, you'll catch a few legitimate spies. You'll also catch a lot of people who never did anything other than having an unpopular opinion.

Sure you will, and that's exactly what happened in the end.

McCarthy did more damage to the cause of 'anti-Communism' than a hundred clumsy NKVD/KGB disinformation campaigns could have done.
The irony is that while FDR's adminstration was loaded up with Soviet spies*, Truman didnt' trust all of the lefties and ditched them as soon as practical.

I despise McCarthy for the simple reason that he held nothing but contempt for the Bill of Rights while pretending to be a 'defender of the American Way'.


*Google 'Venona Decrypts' for details

[Elfdart]

Just a question i felt curious about:

Was their ANY Soviet moles found by Senator McCarthy, or was he just a complete wacko like i hear?

Yes, there were definitely moles found. Alger Hiss, another famous case, was also guilty, and the subsequent evidence strengthened the case.

There were Soviet moles, but McCarthy didn't find any. He held up blank pieces of paper which he claimed were lists of known Russian spies in the State Department. He was bullshitting, of course.

The spies that were discovered were found by the FBI and Justice Department, just as they are today. A bibulous Nazi apologist like McCarthy couldn't have found his own nuts if they weren't attatched.

[Symmetry]

McCarthy also drove away a lot of people in the state deparment who might have helped us, for instance, keep China out of or only loosly tied to the Soviet block.