WaPo columnist Richard Cohen denies Communists were a problem in America.
In trying to liken Donald Trump to Joe McCarthy, Cohen raves:
Yes Richard, we just imagined the the atomic spies (e.g., the Rosenbergs, Harry Gold, Klaus Fuchs), Treasury Dept. Soviet agent Harry Dexter White, State Dept. Soviet agent Alger Hiss, White House adviser and Soviet Agent Lauchlan Currie and the host of others too numerous to name here who helped subvert America and peoples around the world during World War II, at Yalta, in China, in Korea and more.
crickets
I am a scientist who believes in the scientific method. As a matter of fact, it is the scientific method that blows AGW theory out of the water, as we all know that computers are not scientists or clairvoyants, rather they are very fast, very dumb machines that can only do what they are told to do by their human overlords. So, I deny nothing and agree with you totally on that scale.
And I certainly don’t see “AGW” as a partisan issue, although the AGW heads try to make it one. Stifling debate, straw men, name calling, shouting down opponents–that is the rhetorical bailiwick of the left when they realize they would lose the debate on merit and evidence. Those on the right admit their incorrectitude and celebrate finding the truth. If credible science confirmed AGW or AGCC, I would be the first to join the crusade.
Again, Steve is not making this a partisan issue. He is responding to Cohen’s attempt to make it partisan with that inane (and inaccurate) comparison to McCarthy. In his subscript, Steve demonstrates Cohen’s denier status by citing the most prominent examples of McCarthy and his committee getting it right. I’m afraid you slip into denial with your thoughts about what McCarthy truly accomplished. I am no fan or apologist for McCarthy, but I cannot deny how correct he was. I realize that statement causes a visceral reaction for you, so I will ask you to do one thing: Name me one person McCarthy named as a communist who was not a communist–in other words name one person McCarthy actually defamed.
“totally vindicated” Oh my, I am afraid you are a denier on that, my friend.
My main point is that if we want to take on junk science, we should be bi-partisan about it.
So far, we have just one U.S. Senator on our side. That’s not enough.There are plenty of smart liberals out there who believe in science, which means believing in the scientific method. This is not the preserve of the right, as you might wish. Where is the silent majority of scientists, left, center, and right? I think they’re hiding , and we need to smoke them out.
Ronald Havelock, you have an inquiring and open mind, so I suggest you go through the Venona cables. You will find McCarthy’s efforts totally vindicated. Yes, he was a narcissistic alcoholic with poor political skills, but he was dead-on correct about the Communist threat. Steve is not being an apologist for McCarthy at all. He is merely pointing out how McCarthy is used by the left as a straw man to distract from how bad the Communist threat was and that Cohen, bless his heart, is using McCarthy as a straw man in this debate.
Steve, If you want to get anywhere on exposing the great climate fraud, you better start enlisting people like me, liberals who believe in science. Apologizing for the likes of Joe McCarthy is a poor way to start. There was no domestic communist threat in the 1950’s just as there is no “climate change” threat today. I strongly support your efforts to expose junk science. When you merge your effort with the junk politics of the far right, you are pouring mud on your own cause.
Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin used the term “polyezniy idiot” or “useful idiot” to describe sympathizers in the West who blindly supported Communist leaders.