Samson in the Heathen Temple The Fall and Rise OfJoe McCarthy By M. Stanton Evans

A specter is haunting (he DbenU-iefi—the menacingghostof Joe McCarthy. Fordecades wehavebeen incessantly told the Communist-fighting solon from Wisconsin was a demagogue and liar, his charges of deep-dyed subversion a figment of his sick imagination. This view has been so well promoted that it is even endorsed by rightward spokesmen—primarily those who have no memory ofthe era and have made no serious study of it. Of late, however, we have been learning more about these mattere, and the data that keep coming in all trend in thesame direction: Tliere was indeed aif extensive, .systematic (0 and successful Soviet effort to penetrate the RMi U.S. government, with dozens of homegrown 0 I subversives in high places. Such is the evi REfexAAIiNljNe THE

C ~ dence of the Vcnona transcripts, disclosures from ilie Soviet archives, TOI reports and '^V MoST' HAtlDSena^oii wiretaps, and much else. The enormous CC ^ breadth and depth of the penetration are no ARtHUR= HERjMAN c longeropen toseriousquestion. apparent, no scholar has dared to bite the bul let and say that, just possibly, McCarthy was From the Shadow on to something, and was essentially right in Into the Light his assertions. As has occurred to many, the pattern No scholar, that is, until now. The newly. emerging from this mosaic looks eerily like emerged exception is historian Arthur the picture sketched half a century ago, to Herman, whose previous work includes a much derision, by Joe McCarthy. According learned study of the determinist concept of ly, we have seen numerous press accounts and "decline" in Western thinking. Herman's new retrospectives with dtles such as "Was book. Joseph McCarthy: Reexainining the McCarthy Right?" and 'The Rehabilitation of Life and Legacy of America's Most Hated Joe McCarthy." However, tlie usual verdict of Senator (Free Press; $26), actually states tlie these essays is that, no, McCarthy wasn't unthinkable notion: That,takingthedataall in right, regardless of the nscent findings; there all, McCarthy was basically on target, and may have been a lot of Communist skulldug those who so vociferously denied his charges gery, but this doesn't excuse his constant were frequenUy mistaken, if not actually cov lying, smears of coundess innocentvictims,or ering up the problem. The specter lurking in the terrible harm that he inflicted on the the shadows thus steps forward into day- Coniinued on page 22

Herman's new book actually states the unthinkable notion: That, taking the data all in all, McCarthy was basically on target, and those who so vociferously denied his charges were frequent ly mistaken, if not actually cover* ing up the problem.

This new composite judgment has ap peared in virtually all the recent books about Venona, secrcts frrjm the Kremlin vaults, and other tales of Red subversion. The authors of these volumes, while providing much impor tant documentation, invariably stre.ss that tlieir disclosures are in no way, shape or form—not remotely, don't even think it—defenses of McCarthy. For reasons that are perhaps Mr Evans is (iconirihiiiiiig editor of and hnglinie sludeni of the McCarthy controyeny. His most Kceiti book ii'Thc Theiiie Is Frcctlom. bles when he resons to secondary sources, Jaffe, editor of the Communist-liningjournal. which, where this subject is concerned, are not Amerasia. Jaffe in turn was hanging out with Joe McCarthy continuedfrom page lO to be relied on (for instance. McCarthy's han Communist Party boss Earl Biowder and dling of the so-called Lee list, or the testimo Soviet agent Joseph Bernstein. The case was light—to predictable criesof alaimandangst the case ofProf. Owen Latdmore. the Insutute ny of formerState DepartmentofficialAdolph crudely fixed by officials of the Truman from many in the press corps. of Pacific Relations (IPR). and numerous oth- Berle). Administration. A cover-up was thrown Honnan's bool^ itshould bestiesiwd. isby ei3. He offersas well a thoughtfulcritiqueof Among the most significant examples in together,justice obstructed, and multiple per no r 'ans a flat-footed apologyfoeMcCaithy. the China/Cold War policies then being fol this vein is diplomat John Stewart Service, on juries committed to get Service off, and his Qui! the contrary. In numerous cases, for lowedby such gurus of the conventionalwis alleged victim of the Great Terror, who is cut fellow culpritstreated lightiy. reasons to be noted, the author accepts the dom as George C. Marshall. IDean Acheson an inflnite amount of slack in all the standard We now have the FBI wiretapsthat show dominantnegativeviewconcetningcertainof and other establishmentarian types who were histories,and a lesser amount by Herman. As how this was done, as Soviet-agent-in-the McCaithy's claims, and adverse opinion of particulartargets of McCarthy. McCarthy rightly sensed, this case was of White House Lauchlin Currie (exposed by his conduct. However, he balances these with Tlieauthorisat hisbestwhenhede^ with utmost importance. "spy queen" ElizabethBentleyand in Venona) other, countervailing cases that vindicate archival sourcesor other primary data from Service was caught by the FBI in 1945 was in phonecontactwithServiceandthevar McCarthy, and on this basis conchides, in the times. There are occasional factual stum conveying classified information to Philip ious fixers. varying formulations, that McCarthy *Vas more rightthan wrong in tennsof (helaiger picture." Nothing could be more indicative of the prevailing mind-set thanthatthismixed and temperate essayhasbeen almost unanimous ly savaged by revieweis: The New York Times, the Washington Post, the WiU Street Journal—v/cn the Washington Tuiks—have pounced onthebookasanobscene defense of the indefisnsible, consigning it to thepenlition . reserved for Flat Earth studies. UPO believ- ns, andothersbeyondthepaleofserious dis course. Alas, revtewos so deposing know considerably less atxwt the subj^than does Hennan. which seems to make their ire the greater. Their ignofance is offended by his knowledge.

Hennan's book ... is by no means a flat-footed apology for McCarttiy. Quite the contiaiy. In numerous cases, for reasons to be noted, the author accepts the domi- nant negative view conceming cer tain of McCarthy's claims, and ad verse opinionof his conduct

Herman is a fluent writer who keeps the -ftoiy moving briskly, as herecounts thesecu- ity/policy wrangles oftheeaiiyCbWWarand -dentifies the players. A hazanlof thislively jace is thathe has to dealwithmanycompU- ;ated issuesthrough paiapbase andsumma:- .y. Readers therefore maynotquitegraspthat ihereareliterally tensof thousands of pagesof files, dossiers, hearings, metnas, leceis and •jther formerly secret recoids that under^ ;nis thesis—and McCarthy'smessage.

!Kangaroo Court fOf lydings Hearings This is true, incidentally, not only of the . 'largerpicture," butof tnanykqr individuals , uid details. The likes ofX A. Bissoii, Maiy i!aneKeeney, EstherBninaua; HerbertFierst, ^chaid Stanley Graze; David Karr, and . Jther early McCarthy targdspopuplepeated- i'y in laterrevelations. Many of these appear ;'n turnin Herman'srecap. McCarthy indeed - nade his errors—mostly those of fierce ! nvective, wherein he got as good as he .-^ave—but concocting lies abouthiscases,as ' ve can now see moredeariy. was not among hem. Given the inevitable bade-ofis between •eadabilityand documentation, Hennancap sules in lucid fashionthe majorphasesof (he Irama: McCarthy'soriginal chiugesin 19S0, .he kangaroo court of the ladings hearings, VZ.•- llFSLWIKvEXTS:•*jAiaiAHY 21; 2000- What Kind ofArgument is That?

of drinks, professor berk Boddc (who was oneof thefirst issued flagrantly pro-Communist propaganda in his reports • ByANN COIXTER to apply for the post I was vacating at Yale) rose and an from China, insisting that theUnited States abandon ourally Arnold Beichman recendy nounced. 'I propose a toast! Wc finally got Dick Walker!"" Chiang Kai-shek and work with the CommunisLs. The