I am by no means an expert in the area of soviet spies during this era, and hopefully someone will be able to fill in more details, but I do want to touch on a couple of points.

We do know there were hundreds of spies in, or around, the US government during this time. And we know that because there was a list, but it didn't come from McCarthy. The list came from something know as the Venona Project. This was a project by US intelligence to intercept and decode Soviet cable messages. People like the Rosenbergs, and Hiss, and others were found out through this program. You can see some of the transcripts on the PBS website here.

As I said hopefully someone can fill in more details regarding spies. But it is my understanding that for all his "I have in my hands a list..." McCarthy himself uncovered very few actual spies.

I wanted to address the idea of some outside party bringing him down and humiliating him. While I can't say for certain there was no such conspiracy, it really wasn't necessary. McCarthy really didn't need any help when it came to humiliation.

He had always been a bully in the hearings when he questioned witnesses. He was quick to accuse anyone, largely without any evidence at all, of being somehow connected to communists. There were spies, and people knew it, we were in the heart of the Cold War, the soviets had recently gotten the bomb and people were afraid. It was in this environment of fear that McCarthy did his thing. Everyone was afraid of being accused of being a communist. Even if you didn't work in the government if you were accused you found yourself ostracized, unemployable.

In 1954 Edward R. Murrow decided to take on McCarthy, after the senator had gone after a fellow journalist to the point were the man committed suicide. He did a pretty scathing report, primarily using MCarthy's own words against him. He then invited the Senator to his show. McCarthy replied on film. Murrow then responded, here. An interesting side note. In the movie version of these events, Good Night and Good Luck, initial audiences thought the actor that played McCarthy was too over the top to be believable. Except, they didn't use an actor, the show the actual footage from the show.

This was the first time the public was really this side of McCarthy. It wasn't the last. In 1954 they began to televise the hearings. It is estimated 80 million people watched over the course of three months. People could see for themselves the bullying tactics, the wild accusations being thrown around.

You can see it. Here is the most famous one and the one that really seemed to turn the tide of public opinion. I believe on the side bar there are longer versions as well as other clips of the Army-McCarthy hearings.

Once the public got watch the Senator attack, throw wild accusations, bully people with their own eyes, they saw him for what he was. His tactics were so deplorable the senate [censored](I am by no means an expert in the area of soviet spies during this era, and hopefully someone will be able to fill in more details, but I do want to touch on a couple of points.

We do know there were hundreds of spies in, or around, the US government during this time. And we know that because there was a list, but it didn't come from McCarthy. The list came from something know as the Venona Project. This was a project by US intelligence to intercept and decode Soviet cable messages. People like the Rosenbergs, and Hiss, and others were found out through this program. You can see some of the transcripts on the PBS website here.

As I said hopefully someone can fill in more details regarding spies. But it is my understanding that for all his "I have in my hands a list..." McCarthy himself uncovered very few actual spies.

I wanted to address the idea of some outside party bringing him down and humiliating him. While I can't say for certain there was no such conspiracy, it really wasn't necessary. McCarthy really didn't need any help when it came to humiliation.

He had always been a bully in the hearings when he questioned witnesses. He was quick to accuse anyone, largely without any evidence at all, of being somehow connected to communists. There were spies, and people knew it, we were in the heart of the Cold War, the soviets had recently gotten the bomb and people were afraid. It was in this environment of fear that McCarthy did his thing. Everyone was afraid of being accused of being a communist. Even if you didn't work in the government if you were accused you found yourself ostracized, unemployable.

In 1954 Edward R. Murrow decided to take on McCarthy, after the senator had gone after a fellow journalist to the point were the man committed suicide. He did a pretty scathing report, primarily using MCarthy's own words against him. He then invited the Senator to his show. McCarthy replied on film. Murrow then responded, here. An interesting side note. In the movie version of these events, Good Night and Good Luck, initial audiences thought the actor that played McCarthy was too over the top to be believable. Except, they didn't use an actor, the show the actual footage from the show.

This was the first time the public was really this side of McCarthy. It wasn't the last. In 1954 they began to televise the hearings. It is estimated 80 million people watched over the course of three months. People could see for themselves the bullying tactics, the wild accusations being thrown around.

You can see it. Here is the most famous one and the one that really seemed to turn the tide of public opinion. I believe on the side bar there are longer versions as well as other clips of the Army-McCarthy hearings.

Once the public got watch the Senator attack, throw wild accusations, bully people with their own eyes, they saw him for what he was. His tactics were so deplorable the senate censured him.

So, again, while I can't say there was no conspiracy, you can see for yourself, he brought himself down with his own antics.https://web.archive.org/web/20071120130436/http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/60.htm) him.

So, again, while I can't say there was no conspiracy, you can see for yourself, he brought himself down with his own antics.