The political culture of fascism takes on different colorations in different countries. One key thread in the history of US fascism is McCarthyism...not the failed efforts of the Senator with that name, but the millions of people who've held a candle for him ever since. bsky.app/profile/seth...
Can't resist pointing out that RFK, Jr's father was, at one time, a great admirer of Joe McCarthy's and attended his funeral (though he slipped in and out surreptitiously so no one would see). www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...
In 1951, RFK named McCarthy, a friend of his father’s, godfather to his first child, Kathleen. In 1953, he worked for McCarthy for six months as an assistant counsel and left after clashing with the chief counsel, Roy Cohn. JFK was the only Democratic senator who didn’t vote for McCarthy’s censure.
Robert, even more than John, was the pivot from old to new. When you watch people grow, it's inspirational. Don't know the reasons or influences, but we saw it, tried to grow w him. But so did LBJ-he was courageous domestically, brought low by the war. The quest for perfection is a fool's errand.
Around 15 years ago, my wife and I were driving from Atlanta to Savannah, and on I-16 going through Dublin, we saw the image below in someone's lot. I couldn't imagine it was *the* Joe McCarthy this person was referring to, so I later checked. Sure enough, it was him. Couldn't believe it...
McCarthy taught the conservative movement the power of politics as entertainment. "National Review was founded as a vehicle in support of Joe McCarthy… And it was understood to be that; it was not a secret, it was not hidden from anyone. It was McCarthyite intellectuals who founded National Review."
Taking these pictures to include in high school lessons that don't quite capture the appeal of McCarthyism, lessons often just focus on him. Side thought as I take them though....how long are we going to be able to copy and use photos for lessons before we realize AI has made them all unreliable?