Who called Joe McCarthy on his witch hunt in the 1950s?

[Democrat 4 Ever]

I know McCarthy used the flag and patriotism to ruin people all in the idea of "safety" and to force his agenda. The "red menace" was going to destroy this country and we needed McCarthy and the Republican Party to save us. Who was it that had finally had the balls to say enough is enough and ask McCarthy, "Sir, have you no shame?" I wish I could recall the name - now there was a brave American. After years of abuse and the ruin of thousands of American lives, McCarthy was shown to be a coward and a thug, and was sent packing.

That phrase keeps reverberating through my head as Bush and the neocon pundits get on the TV channels and spin their ilk. Why doesn't someone call them on it and ask how they sleep at night knowing the lives they are ruining - deliberately - for personal power and profit. I have no illusions that the GOPs course of action is for no other reason than global domination. Even they have to acknowledge there is no other reason for the course of action this administration has taken for the last three and half years.

Have they no shame other people's children are being killed in Iraq, no shame that 45 million people do not have health care, no shame the economy is in the toilet and job losses are at record levels? How do these people face themselves in the mirror each morning? How will these "Christian" people face their Maker with all of these lies?

I want Kerry to ask Bush, "Have you no shame?" tonight. And if it shuts the debate down, so be it. I want the question put out there.

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Edward R. Murrow was the one who took him apart on the broadcast

media.

[dogtag]

2. Joseph Welch, attorney for the Army in the

Army/McCarthy hearings. And he was a brave man and picked some words that still resonate.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

3. Prescott Bush Was Also An Opponent Of McCarthy...

With each generation of Bushes the apple falls further from the tree....

[Lancer]

5. Yes, Joseph Welch (key passages here)

"The Army-McCarthy hearngs reached a dramatic high point today in an
angry, emotion-packed exchange between Senator Joseph R. McCarthy and
Joseph N. Welch, special counsel for the Army.
Irritated by Mr. Welch's persistent cross-examination of Roy M.
Cohn, Senator McCarthy suddenly injected into the hearings a charge that
one of Mr. Welch's Boston law firm associates, Frederick G. Fisher Jr.,
had been a member of the National Lawyers Guild 'long after it had been
exposed as the legal arm of the Communist Party.'
Mr. Welch, almost in tears from this unexpected attack, told the
Wisconsin Republican that 'until this moment, Senator, I think I never
really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness.' He asked Senator McCarthy
if any 'sense of decency' remained in him.
'If there is a God in heaven, it will do
neither you nor your cause any good,' Mr. Welch declared."

The article then notes that the audience burst into applause.

OK, I think that the stage has been set. My transcript of what was said
is from page 15 of the same New York Times; I'll start after McCarthy
has made his accusation against Fisher and claimed that Welch tried to force
Fisher on the committee as one of the Army's counsel. McCarthy has injected
this accusation into Welch's cross-examination of Roy Cohn.

MR. WELCH - Senator McCarthy I think until this moment--
SENATOR MCCARTHY - Just a minute. Let me ask, Jim -- wil you get the
news story to the effect that this man belongs to this Communist front
organization.
MR. WELCH - I wll tell you that he belonged to it.
SENATOR MCCARTY - Will you get the citations -- order the citations
showing that this was the legal arm of the Communist party and the length of
time that he belonged and the fact that he was recommended by Mr. Welch?
I think that should be in the record.
MR. WELCH - Senator, you won't need anything in the record when I
finish telling you this. Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really
gauged your cruelty or your recklessness.
Fred Fisher is a young man who went to the Harvard Law School and came
into my firm and is starting what looks to be a brilliant career with us.
When I decided to work for this committee I asked Jim St. Clair, who sits
on my right, to be my first assistant. I said to Jim: "Pick somebody in
the firm to work under you that you would like."
He chose Fred Fisher and they came down on an afternoon plane. That
night when we had taken a little stab at trying to see what the case was
about, Fred Fisher and Jim St. Clair and I went to dinner together.
I then said to these two young men: "Boys, I don't know anything about
you except I've always liked you, but if there's anything funny in the life
of either one of you that would hurt anybody in this case, you speak up
quick."
And Fred Fisher said: "Mr. Welch, when I was in the law school and for
a period of months after I belonged to the Lawyer's Guild" as you have
suggested, Senator.
He went on to say, "I am the secretary of the Young Republicans' League
with the son of the Massachusetts Governor and I have the respect and
admiration of my community and I'm sure I have the respect and admiration of
the twenty-five lawyers or so in Hale & Dorr "
And I said, "Fred, I just don't think I'm going to ask you to work on
the case. If I do, one of these days that will come out and go over
national television and it will hurt like the dickens."
So, Senator, I asked him to go back to Boston. Little did I dream
you could be so reckless and so cruel as to do an injury to that lad. It
is true he is still with Hale & Dorr. It is true that he will continue to
be with Hale & Dorr.
It is, I regret to say, equally true that I fear he shall always bear
a scar, needlessly inflicted by you. If it were in my power to forgive you
for your reckless cruelty, I would do so. I like to think I'm a gentle man,
but your forgiveness will have to come from someone other than me.
SENATOR MCCARTHY - May I say that Mr. Welch talks about this being
cruel and reckless. He was just baiting -- he has been baiting Mr. Cohn
here for hours, requesting that Mr. Cohn before sundown get out of any
department of the Government anyone who was serving the Communist cause.
Now, I just give this man's record, and I want to say, Mr. Welch, that
it has been labeled long before he became a member as early as 1944.
MR. WELCH - Senator, may we not drop this? We know he belonged to the
Lawyer's Guild.
SENATOR MCCARTHY - Let me finish this.
MR. WELCH - And Mr. Cohn nods his head at me. I did you, I think, no
personal injury, Mr. Cohn.
MR. COHN - No, sir.
MR. WELCH - I meant to do you no personal injury and if I did, I beg
your pardon. Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator. You've done
enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no
sense of decency?
SENATOR MCCARTHY - I know this hurts you, Mr. Welch.
MR. WELCH - I'll say it hurts.
SENATOR MCCARTHY - May I say, Mr. Chairman, as a point of personal
privilege, that I'd like to finish this.
MR. WELCH - Senator, I think it hurts you too, sir.

http://rpuchalsky.home.att.net/mccarthy.html

[rumguy]

7. It should be noted that Welch was an attorney in private practice

He was hired by the army to defend them - he had a good reputation as a cunning and wise trial lawyer.

Although the best trial lawyer of the time was probably Edward Bennett Williams - who helped Welch, shortly after the hearings, sweep a little infedility problem he had under the rug the month he won Boston's father of year award.

[elperromagico]

4. Stuart Symington, a Democrat from Missouri, stood up to him.

When McCarthy said "You shouldn't do that! It's just dishonest," it was in response to an attempt on Symington's part to get McCarthy to take the oath and testify before a Senate committee.

McCarthy also made trouble for himself when he pissed off the powerful Southern Caucus. When you made enemies out of those guys, you were in trouble.

[The empressof all]

6. The Press has no shame

I have no doubt that they sleep very well. The majority of journalists have been forced off of the tube anyway. What remains for the most part (with a few exceptions) are vacuous tube people who feed off of each other.

We must however call them on their behavior. Point out their lies and deception. Only ridicule will impact these people at this point. Shame has no meaning, Embarrass them instead because it's all about the "looks" not the heart.

[elsiesummers]

8. According to Clinton's "My Life" Sen. Fulbright played a role

Pg 100:
Fulbright cast the only vote in the Senate against giving McCarthy's specialinvestigative subcommittee more money. He also co-sponsored the resolution censuring McCarthy which the Senate finaly passed after Joseph Welch exposed him to the whole country for the fraud he was. McCarthy came along too soon - he would have been right at home in the crowd that took over Congress in 1995

[Old and In the Way]

9. "Declaration of Conscience" Speech by US ME Senator

Margaret Chase Smith (R)

I highly recommend this speech....very pertinent to election of 2004. What the hell happened to Republicans like this?


-----------------------------------------------------------------





Declaration of Conscience"
Senators Joseph McCarthy and Margaret Chase Smith participate in Congressional hearing.



For Release Upon Delivery
Statement of Senator Margaret Chase Smith
June 1, 1950
"Mr. President:

I would like to speak briefly and simply about a serious national condition. It is a national feeling of fear and frustration that could result in national suicide and the end of everything that we Americans hold dear. It is a condition that comes from the lack of effective leadership in either the Legislative Branch or the Executive Branch of our Government.

That leadership is so lacking that serious and responsible proposals are being made that national advisory commissions be appointed to provide such critically needed leadership.

I speak as briefly as possible because too much harm has already been done with irresponsible words of bitterness and selfish political opportunism. I speak as simply as possible because the issue is too great to be obscured by eloquence. I speak simply and briefly in the hope that my words will be taken to heart.

I speak as a Republican, I speak as a woman. I speak as a United States Senator. I speak as an American.

The United States Senate has long enjoyed worldwide respect as the greatest deliberative body in the world. But recently that deliberative character has too often been debased to the level of a forum of hate and character assassination sheltered by the shield of congressional immunity.

It is ironical that we Senators can in debate in the Senate directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to any American, who is not a Senator, any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming an American -- and without that non-Senator American having any legal redress against us -- yet if we say the same thing in the Senate about our colleagues we can be stopped on the grounds of being out of order.

It is strange that we can verbally attack anyone else without restraint and with full protection and yet we hold ourselves above the same type of criticism here on the Senate Floor. Surely the United States Senate is big enough to take self-criticism and self-appraisal. Surely we should be able to take the same kind of character attacks that we dish out to outsiders.

I think that it is high time for the United States Senate and its members to do some soul searching -- for us to weigh our consciences -- on the manner in which we are performing our duty to the people of America -- on the manner in which we are using or abusing our individual powers and privileges.

I think that it is high time that we remembered that we have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution. I think that it is high time that we remembered; that the Constitution, as amended, speaks not only of the freedom of speech but also of trial by jury instead of trial by accusation.

Whether it be a criminal prosecution in court or a character prosecution in the Senate, there is little practical distinction when the life of a person has been ruined.

Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism in making character assassinations are all to frequently those who, by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism --

The right to criticize;

The right to hold unpopular beliefs;

The right to protest;

The right of independent thought.

The exercise of these rights should not cost one single American citizen his reputation or his right to a livelihood nor should he be in danger of losing his reputation or livelihood merely because he happens to know some one who holds unpopular beliefs. Who of us doesn't? Otherwise none of us could call our souls our own. Otherwise thought control would have set in.

The American people are sick and tired of being afraid to speak their minds lest they be politically smeared as "Communists" or "Fascists" by their opponents. Freedom of speech is not what it used to be in America. It has been so abused by some that it is not exercised by others. The American people are sick and tired of seeing innocent people smeared and guilty people whitewashed. But there have been enough proved cases to cause nationwide distrust and strong suspicion that there may be something to the unproved, sensational accusations.

As a Republican, I say to my colleagues on this side of the aisle that the Republican Party faces a challenge today that is not unlike the challenge that it faced back in Lincoln's day. The Republican Party so successfully met that challenge that it emerged from the Civil War as the champion of a united nation -- in addition to being a Party that unrelentingly fought loose spending and loose programs.

Today our country is being psychologically divided by the confusion and the suspicions that are bred in the United States Senate to spread like cancerous tentacles of "know nothing, suspect everything" attitudes. Today we have a Democratic Administration that has developed a mania for loose spending and loose programs. History is repeating itself -- and the Republican Party again has the opportunity to emerge as the champion of unity and prudence.

The record of the present Democratic Administration has provided us with sufficient campaign issues without the necessity of resorting to political smears. America is rapidly losing its position as leader of the world simply because the Democratic Administration has pitifully failed to provide effective leadership.

The Democratic Administration has completely confused the American people by its daily contradictory grave warnings and optimistic assurances -- that show the people that our Democratic Administration has no idea of where it is going.

The Democratic Administration has greatly lost the confidence of the American people by its complacency to the threat of communism here at home and the leak of vital secrets to Russia through key officials of the Democratic Administration. There are enough proved cases to make this point without diluting our criticism with unproved charges.

Surely these are sufficient reasons to make it clear to the American people that it is time for a change and that a Republican victory is necessary to the security of this country. Surely it is clear that this nation will continue to suffer as long as it is governed by the present ineffective Democratic Administration.

Yet to displace it with a Republican regime embracing a philosophy that lacks political integrity or intellectual honesty would prove equally disastrous to this nation. The nation sorely needs a Republican victory. But I don't want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny -- Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry and Smear.

I doubt if the Republican Party could -- simply because I don't believe the American people will uphold any political party that puts political exploitation above national interest. Surely we Republicans aren't that desperate for victory.

I don't want to see the Republican Party win that way. While it might be a fleeting victory for the Republican Party, it would be a more lasting defeat for the American people. Surely it would ultimately be suicide for the Republican Party and the two-party system that has protected our American liberties from the dictatorship of a one party system.

As members of the Minority Party, we do not have the primary authority to formulate the policy of our Government. But we do have the responsibility of rendering constructive criticism, of clarifying issues, of allaying fears by acting as responsible citizens.

As a woman, I wonder how the mothers, wives, sisters and daughters feel about the way in which members of their families have been politically mangled in Senate debate -- and I use the word 'debate' advisedly.

As a United States Senator, I am not proud of the way in which the Senate has been made a publicity platform for irresponsible sensationalism. I am not proud of the reckless abandon in which unproved charges have been hurled from this side of the aisle. I am not proud of the obviously staged, undignified countercharges that have been attempted in retaliation from the other side of the aisle.

I don't like the way the Senate has been made a rendezvous for vilification, for selfish political gain at the sacrifice of individual reputations and national unity. I am not proud of the way we smear outsiders from the Floor of the Senate and hide behind the cloak of congressional immunity and still place ourselves beyond criticism on the Floor of the Senate.

As an American, I am shocked at the way Republicans and Democrats alike are playing directly into the Communist design of "confuse, divide and conquer." As an American, I don't want a Democratic Administration "white wash" or "cover up" any more than I want a Republican smear or witch hunt.

As an American, I condemn a Republican "Fascist" just as much as I condemn a Democrat "Communist." I condemn a Democrat "fascist" just as much as I condemn a Republican "Communist." They are equally dangerous to you and me and to our country. As an American, I want to see our nation recapture the strength and unity it once had when we fought the enemy instead of ourselves.

It is with these thoughts I have drafted what I call a "Declaration of Conscience." I am gratified that Senator Tobey, Senator Aiken, Senator Morse, Senator Ives, Senator Thye and Senator Hendrickson, have concurred in that declaration and have authorized me to announce their concurrence."