The Venona project found perhaps a dozen or so communist or former communist in the state department
This is not true, Venona discovered over 300 "communists" in the state department and other government bureaucracies, even in the OSS, and many in very sensitive positions, like The Rosenbergs, Harry Dexter White, Alger Hiss, Karl Fuchs, to name a few...
MCCarthy accused the US Army of being infiltrated by communist at the highest level directly accusing Marshal.
Making the accusation without direct evidence was the beginning of the end for McCarthy. Yet, it does excuse one very salient fact: Marshal and the Truman Administration lost China, one of the biggest blunders in American foreign policy, and it was lost due to State Department that was infiltrated with Communists.
he was a petty drunk and liar
as most politicians are
he was a petty drunk and liar who used HUAC and its loyalty oaths (HUAC was a committee in the house, not the senate where he resided formed in the 1930s) to a generalized attack.
Not true, once McCarthy was senator he was not controlling HUAC, and HUAC's actions during the "Red Scare" took place without McCarthy's guidance while he was in the Senate. The idea that McCarthy was destroying the lives of thousands of innocent people is simply not true.
how is it that in our democracy communist thoughts and a minor political party (American Communist Party) became a way to destroy people's livelihood
Verona proved that the American Communist Party was taking directives from the Soviet Union.... nothing "minor" about that.
I do not view McCarthy as a hero nor as a villain, yet he was more far right than wrong in his accusations about the infiltration about communists in our government. Whether his actions to expose communists in our government was to advance his own political ambitions or was sincere, that is open to debate and opinion, as well as his tactics.
On another note, I've disagreed with you about everything from Rick Tricket (who still sucks) to contemporary culture, yet over the last 17 years I've come to sincerely appreciate your posts and your input on these boards. On this particular topic, you are largely repeating the standard McCarthy narrative which is no longer accurate.
Sincerely,
Noletaire