Chris Matthews over the weekend alleged there were “echoes of McCarthyism” in Ted Cruz’s interrogation of Chuck Hagel during his confirmation hearing. “I don’t know the man’s personality, I know he’s got an interesting background, he’s a brilliant guy in many ways,” Matthews said, “but the tactics, you know, I watched him in those hearings and I saw Joe McCarthy. I saw the way he was prosecuting the case, the way he was putting up evidence, innuendo, guilt by association.”
https://youtube.com/watch?v=LgMGlnLFpCQ
On his Hardball program last week, Matthews made the same comparison, criticizing Cruz for noting during the hearing that the government of Iran has formally endorsed Hagel’s nomination. “You know, I don’t often say it, and I rarely say it, but there was echoes of Joe McCarthy there,” he said. “Really strong echoes.”