Joseph McCarthy's victory...40 years later

Cape Times - Striking similarity between McCarthyism and USA Patriot Act

Leslie Liddell provides a short overview of the McCarthyism era and the general atmosphere at the time. The issue of constitution being under attack is raised when the persecutions of the "enemies of the state" took place.

"People lost their jobs. The official manifestations of McCarthyism... the public hearings, FBI investigations, and criminal prosecutions... would not have been as effective had they not been reinforced by the private sector." Targeted people were blacklisted, which meant that they were unable to find employment.

The authors then goes into reviewing what she believes is strikingly similar development about 40 years later - the Patriot Act.

...It was introduced with great haste and passed with little debate and without a House, Senate or conference report.
As a result, it lacks background legislative history that often retrospectively provides necessary statutory interpretation. It also doesn't provide for the system of checks and balances that traditionally safeguards civil liberties in the face of such legislation.

Liddell, as many many others, believes that this act violates many foundations of the American democracy. Of particular concern is the very broad definition of the prohibited activities, which can theoretically include acts of civil disobedience or even political opposition.