Wheeling, Revisited

“The reason why we find ourselves in a position of impotency is not because our only powerful potential enemy has sent men to invade our shores but rather because of the traitorous actions of those who have been treated so well by this Nation. It has not been the less fortunate, or members of minority groups who have been traitorous to this Nation, but rather those who have had all the benefits that the wealthiest Nation on earth has had to offer: the finest homes, the finest college education and the finest jobs in government we can give.

This is glaringly true in the State Department.  There the bright young men who are born with silver spoons in their mouths are the ones who have been most traitorous …

I have here in my hand a list of 205 … a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department.”

-Senator Joseph McCarthy, Wheeling, West Virginia, February 9, 1950

Often credited as launching his presence on (and as) the national consciousness, McCarthy’s “Wheeling Speech” quoted above, is a tragic example of demagoguery that has littered United States’ history.  A few days following this speech, McCarthy held up a piece of paper during a speech in Salt Lake City claiming to be a list of 57 communists in the U.S. government.  At the same time he sent a telegram to President Truman repeating this claim and ordered the president to root out and fire these 57 employees of the government.   The numbers shift between Wheeling and Salt Lake are insignificant when falsely shouting fire in a theater. 

Four long or short years later, depending on your perspective, McCarthy’s infamy would lead to a censure by the U.S. Senate and findings from the Tydings Committee that his charges were a “fraud and hoax.”  Simply put, this moment in our history should never be forgotten.  Why you ask? 

While all of us should know what occurred after Wheeling, it is often forgotten by most or simply limited by the term McCarthyism and the whims of a single madman.  An abbreviated reminder:

·    McCarthy held countless public hearings under the banner of the House Un-American Activities committee, where citizens had to publicly justify their First Amendment protected actions against spurious allegations and bogus evidence;

·    Countless citizens were blacklisted and ostracized by society, for decades in some instances, and publicly imprisoned by McCarthy’s careless and shameless accusations;   

·    McCarthy’s red scare produced un-constitutional legislation, like the McCarran Internal Security Act and I quote “In the United States those individuals who knowingly and willfully participate in the world Communist movement, when they so participate, in effect repudiate their allegiance to the United States, and in effect transfer their allegiance to the foreign country in which is vested the direction and control of the world Communist movement,” and the Communist Control Act and I quote, “To outlaw the Communist Party, to prohibit members of Communist organizations from serving in certain representative capacities, and for other purposes.”

As a society built on of the rule of law (sorry evangelicals) as the foundation for our society, McCarthy and these laws are tragic moments of vague, ambiguous injustice.  These laws were so broad that single men were given king-like powers.  Thankfully, McCarthy was brought down by the simple, televised question: “Have you left no sense of decency?” during the Army-McCarthy hearings.  Yes, in the end the dominance of pathos wore off and logos, ethos, and pathos collectively righted our ship.

So, why I am revisiting ancient history?  Because last weekend, current U.S. Congressmen Allen West (FL) made the following claim: “I believe there’s about 78 to 81 members of the Democrat Party who are members of the Communist Party.” 

See above for why this is total bullshit.