From an article in the March 17 New Yorker
“What gave [Sen. Joseph] McCarthy his fame and his influence was the spectacle of arbitrary power. Alone among rivals, he demonstrated that a single loose-cannon senator could do and say whatever he wanted—nobody could stop him. To speak out against McCarthy was to invite his scrutiny and intimidation. But remaining silent was no guarantee of safety, either. He created a no-win situation that left enemies and critics, year after year, at a loss.”
Sound familiar?
Sound familiar?
And it was stopped in part by the reaction of a proper appearing , generally mild mannered, lawyer from the blue stocking law firm of Hale & Dorr in Boston, when McCarthy smeared one of his associates as a homosexual. “At long last, Senator, have you no decency?” We need a Joseph Welch today, preferably sitting as the minority leader of the Senate. No such luck.
Fred Fisher was smeared by McCarthy as a Communist, not as a homosexual. Fisher had belonged to the National Lawyers Guild while in law school and for a short time thereafter. He told Welch, who decided that even this slight youthful indiscretion meant that Fisher shouldn’t participate in the Army-McCarthy hearings.
It is often best to verify one’s memory before posting – I know that at my age my memory is often mistaken!
Correction noted. Compliance with the advice is difficult.