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June 10, 2004

Exhuming McCarthy

Via Kevin Drum, this LA Times (subscription required) op-ed by Thomas Doherty marking the 50th anniversary of one of the most famous soundbites in the history of televised political spectacle. On June 9, 1954, Army attorney Joseph N. Welch, responding to Senator McCarthy's increasingly vitriolic attacks against Fred Fisher, a young lawyer at Hale and Dorr, eloquently asked,

"Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"
Doherty goes on to note that Welch's defense of Fisher marked a turning point in the McCarthy hearings. But, as Doherty (a film scholar whose books I like) points out, they are equally interesting in terms of the effect these words have today:
The words still echo loudly in the fantasies of anyone near a microphone at a televised congressional hearing — grandstanding politicians, ambitious lawyers and subpoenaed witnesses, all straining to summon a golden sound bite for a media moment of ad-libbed eloquence and historic weight.
Some local rock band even sampled the line in one of their songs (BTW, Doherty's wrong about the date of "Exhuming McCarthy," which was actually released in 1987). It is a pretty powerful moment in American history (Welch's speech, not the song), with the spectacle of politics finding its greatest expression in the emergent medium of television, an image that informs all of the scandals and Congressional hearings we've had since.

Doherty also addresses the debate about whether or not Welch's famous line was rehearsed or not. Welch, of course, insists it was not planned while McCarthy lawyer, Roy Cohn argued otherwise. The transcript and audio are available here.

Posted by chuck at June 10, 2004 11:36 PM

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Comments

I wonder what happened to Fred Fisher after this episode? Did he practice law? A quick Google did not find anything?

Answer: I wanted to answer your question, even though you have probably forgotten even asking it at this point. Mr. Fisher was concerned that the McCarthy's attacks might have a long lasting adverse effect on his reputation as a lawyer and a citizen.

The accusations were empty and clearly not based on logical evidence. Also, Fisher was a war hero and was well loyal republican. He ran as a republican state representative in MA 1962 but was beaten by a democrat reaping the popularity of Senator Big Teddy Kennedy.

Fisher had an extremely successful law career. In 1973 he became president of the Massachusetts Bar Association along with many other distinguished positions. He was also instrumental in the drafting and enactment of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978.

McCarthy's attack did not destroy Fred. It toughened him. He worked at Hale and Dorr until his death and left a lasting legacy.





Posted by: Ethan Dorr at January 1, 2005 7:34 PM

I don't really remember asking that question, but thanks for the background. I'm guessing from your name that you have some connection to Hale and Dorr?

Posted by: Chuck [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 2, 2005 4:14 PM

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