When Senator Joseph McCarthy infamously asked “Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?” in the 1950s, liberals recoiled at what they saw as authoritarian overreach. Now, a blistering American Thinker editorial argues the script has flipped β with progressives adopting McCarthyite tactics against Trump supporters while smugly claiming the moral high ground.
The New Blacklists
The piece singles out Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin and like-minded figures for leading what it describes as a modern-day political purge. Where McCarthy sought to root out communist sympathizers, these actors allegedly demand ideological purity tests centered on Trump opposition. The editorial mocks the “assorted mopes and opportunists” who enabled Trump while warning they’ll face permanent exile from polite society.
Mirror Image Fascism?
In a provocative twist, the author appropriates McCarthy’s infamous questioning style to satirize progressive rhetoric: “…are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Republican Party?” The argument hinges on perceived hypocrisy β those who once condemned blacklists now allegedly champion them, all while self-identifying as defenders of democracy. “If they want to look in the eyes of fascists,” the piece contends, “all they need is a mirror.”
A Decency Test
Echoing the famous rebuke to McCarthy β “Have you no sense of decency?” β the editorial turns the question back on modern progressives. It frames cancel culture not as social justice but as illiberal coercion, with free speech casualties mounting under what it dubs “smug fascism.” The unspoken throughline: whether today’s backlash against Trumpism has become as dangerously absolutist as the Red Scare it once opposed.
Source: www.americanthinker.com β https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/11/tailgunner-joe-rides-again/