Reply #3: Maybe someday, if [View All]

she were in a position of significant power. But, no, for me - and I am old enough barely to remember McCarthy, and my parents talking about him - she's not even close to what McCarthy was.

Palin can bleat all she wants about anything she chooses, but she lacks the subpoena power, the power to imprison people, the power to ruin reputations, careers, and lives.

McCarthy had that power, and he did all that.

No, she's just a shrill barking dog, looking to incite people just because she can. McCarthy, while I think he was nuts - and given how much he drank, it's entirely possible that he was already brain-damaged from all the hooch - had a very clear demon, and he was very focused - and well armed - as far as going after any and all people he considered to have made a comfortable place in their lives for Communism.

Palin has no one, a lot of people who think she's pretty neat, but no official position, no staff, no platform.

Among other things, Senator McCarthy had a young Robert F. Kennedy on his staff, and RFK was involved in McCarthy's televised hearings in 1954, something of which RFK was later not very proud, and it is to his credit that he resigned.

But, the comparison pretty much fails. As demagogues go, Palin is much better than McCarthy ever was. She's a gifted orator, and McCarthy was not. In today's HD age, he'd get absolutely nowhere in politics - sweaty, balding, shifty-eyed, and not brilliantly articulate. Palin's better at that than McCarthy, but, on all other facets of their comparison, nothing holds up.

There are some brilliant, wonderful books about Joe McCarthy and who he was, what he did to this country. This one is very good reading - http://www.amazon.com/Joseph-McCarthy-Reexamining-Americas-Senator/dp/0684836254/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250746229&sr=8-1 and I liked this one very much, too, since it's written by an old friend of mind who's been a Washington insider for a long, long time - http://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Star-Brief-Arc-McCarthy/dp/015101082X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250746229&sr=8-4

(On edit): One of my heroes is Joseph Welch. If you don't know about this magnificent man, find out about him here - http://www.nndb.com/people/211/000162722/ - he changed history with just a few sentences, and saved many lives. A true American hero, Joseph Welch.

You made a very interesting post. Made me think. Thank you very much.................. :toast:

(An aside - never, ever rely on widipedia for any reliable, substantive information - it's a good starting point, but as a research tool, it's an utter waste of space and time.)