On Oct 17, 2006, at 5:50 PM, Carrol Cox wrote:
> Jesse Lemisch wrote:
>>
>> Nobody disputes
>> that McCarthyism took on the character of a mass movement.
>
> Actually, I think it could be debated.
This is not a measurement of whether McCarthyism was a mass movement or not, but it does suggest that his popularity was limited and short- lived <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_McCarthy>:
McCarthy's Support in Gallup Polls
Date Favorable No Opinion Unfavorable Net Favorable 1951-August 15 63 22 -7 1953 April 19 59 22 -3 1953 June 35 35 30 5 1953 August 34 24 42 -8 1954-Jan 50 21 29 21 1954-March 46 18 36 10 1954-April 38 16 46 -8 1954-May 35 16 49 -14 1954-June 34 21 45 -11 1954-August 36 13 51 -15 1954-Nov 35 19 46 -11
Source: Nelson W. Polsby, "Towards an Explanation of McCarthyism," Political Studies, Vol. 8 (Oct 1962), p. 252