I have a new respect for Joe McCarthy (Updated)

Republican congressman Allen West of Florida has said that half the Democrats in Congress are members of the Communist party. He was serious. He has not been quoted out of context. Here's the video.

Some may compare West to Joe McCarthy. But modern politics are far more psychotic than the witch hunts of the 1950s ever were. The existence of the Soviet Union gave McCarthyism at least some plausibility. No-one can deny that, during the Depression years, Marxism appealed to American intellectuals who felt that capitalism had failed and who could still rationalize Stalin's repression.

But now...?

Update: It's worse than I thought. Take a look at the responses to West's insane claim on The Gateway Pundit, where he is called "Hero Allen West." There's even a list of names.

My god, I doubt that we even have 80 genuine liberals in the House.

This nation has gone psycho. Truly psycho. We should change the national anthem, because Key's poem no longer fits us; Bernard Hermann's "Music to Shower By" would be a more appropriate way to open our NASCAR races and high school football games.

Here's the topper: Many are now calling for Romney to pick West as his running mate...!

Shree shree shree Shrack shrack shrack....

West's accusation gave me an idea. What would happen if I took a video camera to the next actual Communist Party meeting in the DC area? According to Hero Allen West -- and he wouldn't lie to us, would he? -- I should be able to get footage of all of the high-level politicos in attendance.

So I fired up my web browser to see when the next commie confab was scheduled. Alas, if you go to the CPUSA website and hit the "Meetings" subsection, you'll find that the page has not been updated since November of 2010 -- and even that post is a generalized call to arms titled "Time to Organize." No actual meetings are mentioned.

Below that entry, we have a piece from June 2010 titled "We Need a New Kind of Peace Movement." Wait -- how can this be? The piece is critical of Obama! I guess he must not be a filthy red, despite what Hero Allen West tells us.

Either that, or...yes. The bolshies are playing a particularly intricate game of deception, pretending to dislike their own operative.

Well, I'm on to them.

I now know, thanks to the congressman from Florida, that the Communist Party is IMMENSELY POWERFUL and a key part of the DC power structure. They're not just a handful of inconsequential fringe-dwellers who haven't had any get-togethers in the past two years except for the odd pot luck dinner which they ruin with endlessly pedantic bickering about how to bell the cat. Oh no. Trust me, my friends: These are high-level movers and shakers who can change maps just by arching an eyebrow and who can destroy an economy more easily than a teen can pop a pimple.

Just ask Hero Allen West.