- Playing
- Commentary: The New Cold Warriors
- From
- Dick Meister
The fanatic anti-communism of the 1950s that's at the heart of the film "Good Night, and Good Luck"about broadcaster Edward R. Murrow's exposure of Sen. Joseph McCarthy's outrageous red-baiting has not disappeared.
That's been made painfully clear just this fall by the defeat in the House of Representatives of a bill to name the main post office in Berkeley, California, in honor of a 94-year-old African American activist, Maudelle Shirek, because of her support for a small Marxist research library used by scholars in Berkeley. That was cited by mmembers of Congress' Republican majority as evidence of "affiliation with the Communist Party" -- and as a reason for rejecting the bill authored by the Berkeley area's congressional representative, Democrat Barbara Lee.
The Republican Congressional Committee sent press releases to the media in 45 districts that are expected to be closely contested in next year's congressional elections attacking incumbent Democrats for voting to name a post office after a Communist.
More from Dick Meister
Good News For Our Neediest Workers
(04:03)
From: Dick Meister
Commentary: More than 850,000 minimum wage workers in 10 states will be getting raises in the new year.
Home Care Workers Need Presidential Help
(02:21)
From: Dick Meister
It's time for President Obama to help the country's home care workers.
Many Profit From Bowl Games. But Not The Players
(04:01)
From: Dick Meister
Commentary: Student athletes get very little of the millions generated by college football's bowl games.
A Free Choice For US Workers
(04:13)
From: Dick Meister
Commentary: It's time to enact a proposed law that would give workers the absolute right to unionization.
We All Need A Higher Minimum Wage
(04:33)
From: Dick Meister
Raising the minimum wage should be a key post-election priority.
Labor's Major Election Challenge
(02:41)
From: Dick Meister
Commentary: Labor faces its greatest election challenge in California.
Missing A Vital Election Message
(03:13)
From: Dick Meister
Repealing the union-crippling Taft-Hartley Act should have been a prime issue throughout the election campaign.
A Farm Worker Champion
(02:56)
From: Dick Meister
Commentary: John Steinbeck was a great champion of farm labor.
We're Providing The Wrong Kind Of New Jobs
(03:01)
From: Dick Meister
Commentary: Although we're recovering from the Great Recession, most of the new jobs are low-paying, non-union jobs.
Related Pieces
Piece Description
The fanatic anti-communism of the 1950s that's at the heart of the film "Good Night, and Good Luck"about broadcaster Edward R. Murrow's exposure of Sen. Joseph McCarthy's outrageous red-baiting has not disappeared. That's been made painfully clear just this fall by the defeat in the House of Representatives of a bill to name the main post office in Berkeley, California, in honor of a 94-year-old African American activist, Maudelle Shirek, because of her support for a small Marxist research library used by scholars in Berkeley. That was cited by mmembers of Congress' Republican majority as evidence of "affiliation with the Communist Party" -- and as a reason for rejecting the bill authored by the Berkeley area's congressional representative, Democrat Barbara Lee. The Republican Congressional Committee sent press releases to the media in 45 districts that are expected to be closely contested in next year's congressional elections attacking incumbent Democrats for voting to name a post office after a Communist.
Broadcast History
None.
Transcript
You know that new movie, “Good Night, and Good Luck,” about broadcaster Edward R. Murrow exposing Senator Joseph MccCarthy’s outrageous red-baiting in the Cold War days of the 1950s … Well, I guess you might think such red-baiting is strictly a thing of the past. Think again.
Think of what’s been done just this fall in the House of Representatives. Republican Steve King of Iowa and more than 200 other House members, most also Republicans, stood up four-square against what they insisted were threats to our very way of life posed by a bill to name the main post office in Berkeley, California, in honor of Maudelle Shirek, a 94-year- old African American activist.
Shirek is a granddaughter of slaves who’s devoted her life to helping the poor and oppressed here and abroad, Among many other things, she’s been a union organizer, an outspoken advocate for senior citizens, teac...
Read the full transcript
Timing and Cues
Intro: Commentator Dick Meister says in some places the Cold War continues ...
Outro: Dick Meister is a San Francisco writer.
