I have to wonder, Does Ann Coulter know what McCarthyism means?  I got to this link through Oliver Willis…you can find a link to his blog over there under blogroll on the right.  I do recommend reading the site regularly, although he is prone to wild overstatements. (like saying that Negroponte oversaw death squads in Honduras rather than the more accurate overlooked) - so don’t get too carried away with his word choices, and don’t forget to read up on subjects for yourself.

     Anyway, Ann Coulter.  I still can’t figure out if she’s evil or stupid or both.  She actually advocated a return to McCarthiest tactics (and once again said that liberals are terrorists, and that conservatives should terrorize liberals in return.  She also publicly stated that she wished the American military would shoot journalists.)  Do we need a refresher on exactly what McCarthyism was all about?

     Senator Joe McCarthy used public fear and hysteria about totalitarian regimes erected under the guise of communism to launch himself into the spotlight as the primary defender of the American Way of Life.  He fanned the flames of fear and hysteria, manipulated people, lied about decent hard-working, loyal Americans, ruined innocent lives, and in the end cost this country a piece of it’s soul.

     During the McCarthy Era, we were no more or less safe from Communists than we would have been without all of the paranoia, hate, fear, destruction and misery.  It produced nothing but waste and human rights abuses that, quite rightly, are still decried today by sensible people who understand history and think America and freedom are good ideas.

     A lot of ideas that shifted the balance of power away from wealthy industrialists and capitalists, and toward more populist centers like labor were considered “communist” or “socialist” even though they grew out of concepts of populism that have been around since before our country was formed, and were specifically inculcated into our national tradition by founding fathers like Thomas Jefferson, and promoted by great Republicans like Abraham Lincolin.

     For example:

     "Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration." Lincoln's First Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1861.

    Was Lincoln advocating Communism in this quote?  Clearly not.  Neither was he when  he described laborers as having a right to “eat the bread that is the result of their labors”…nor when he decried as “parasites” those that would eat the bread of another’s labor.

     Clearly, no one could accuse the first republican President of the United States of being a Communist, but under McCarthy’s influence and the atmosphere of the “Red Scare” people saying such things…such inherently American things…were denounced as “communists” and “socialists”.  They were blackballed, arrested, jailed without due process brought before the House Un American Activities Committee and told to “name names” or be considered uncooperative.

     One person who was very cooperative was a young actor by the name of Ronald Reagan…who had no problem whatsoever feeding the flames of fear, hate and red scare hysteria by offering testimony before the HUAC to the effect that Hollywood and the media were overrun and controlled by the Red Menace.

     In his autobiography, Warped Factors, Walter Koenig (Ensign Chekov on Star Trek, and Psi-cop Alfred Bester on Babylon 5) describes being falsely arrested and detained on suspicion of criminal activity because he was under surveillance due to his father’s membership in a socialist labor organization.  They observed him doing things that they considered “suspicious”…like coming and going from his brother’s college dormitory at all hours of the night…as well as being in the company of various young women…and concluded that he was running a prostitution ring – or so they told him when he was released without charges.

     He also describes going to the local news stand and buying a newspaper – The Daily Worker – as a surprise for his father.  His father was terrified that young Walter might have been reported and followed.

     This is the sort of thing that the government did during the McCarthy Era.  This is the sort of environment that people lived in; where dissent was considered traitorous and any ideas about an egalitarian society were considered corrupt and traitorous.  The idea that if you put in a full weeks work of skilled labor every week over a life-time, you should be able to support your family was considered a radical leftist notion – and traitorous.

     And Ann Coulter thinks it’s a good idea.  And enough Republicans think that it’s a good idea that she is a very popular speaker with such organizations as the Conservatives Political Action Conference – where Vice President Dick Cheney was also an honored speaker.

     So, just in case you happen to think freedom and working-class values and not going to war over rumors and innuendo is a good idea – get used to answering the following question:  “Are you now, or have you ever been a member of a terrorist organization such as the ACLU or MoveOn.org, or Media Matters for America, or The Democratic Party?”

     And if you like your job, your good name, and supporting your family; be sure to have a full confession and a list of friends and relatives handy to turn over.  They don’t have to have done anything – you don’t have to have done anything either…just confess anyway…it’s just part of the whole game of surviving Ann Coulter’s great ideas.