McCARTHY: The Man the Senator, the ""1sm

by ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 8, 1952

This is a book that is needed and must be read by thoughtful citizens. Too few such have seen The McCarthy Record, issued by the Wisconsin Citizens' Committee, which highlights almost every major point expanded in this book, but for those who have seen it, the book comes as further evidence that the day of the demagogue is still with us, and that a threat against our form of democracy lies in McCarthyism, which the Communists (whose enemy he claims to be) hail as ""helping them a great deal"". Without melodrama- where melodrama might have been employed, without descending to personalities, two young Americans, one a member of the White House Correspondents Association, the other a political writer, have spent more than a year exploring all available sources of information, and present the McCarthy record. His background story is not unlike that of Huey Long: his triumphant march to the political goal he wanted used many of the same procedures- and early put into practice a technique that totalitarians have perfected- the ""Big Lie"" -- or as the New Yorker calls it ""the multiple untruth"". His history is a trail of lies- and a trail of laws mangled, created, or ignored for his own benefit. Misconduct at every step of his fantastic career- on the bench in Wisconsin, in exaggerating and misinterpreting his war career, in running for office, in working both sides of the fence (how many know that he switched from being a Democrat to being a Republican because he could get farther there?) Once in Washington he carried the ball for the interests, became known as ""the Pepsi Coal Kid"" and ""the water boy of the real estate lobbies"". The Lustron affair, in which he betrayed the cause of public housing (and salted down a $10,000 fee); the Malredy case whitewash; the rigged Tydings defeat; and finally the fanatical pursuit of the Communist terror, through unsupported charges which blackened reputations by accusation alone. How he works- where and how he gets his figures- the story is here. Negative Americanism at work. Will this book help restore a positive Americanism as the best weapon against the Communist sickness? The McCarthy victory in the primaries causes one to wonder.

Pub Date: Oct. 8, 1952

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Beacon Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952

Categories: NONFICTION