OPINION: Our president is lurching toward his Joe McCarthy moment

“Have you no sense of decency?” It was a simple question, posed to a political demagogue in Washington, D.C., more than 70 years ago. It wasn’t simply a question, it was a sentiment that stung the national conscience and triggered the demise of a vicious, vindictive politician.

Hmmm, a vicious and vindictive politician in Washington. Does that sound familiar?

Back in 1954, Sen. Joe McCarthy (R-Wisc.) terrorized countless Americans with wild accusations that they were communists. That was his gimmick, and anyone who rose to the accused’s defense probably was a communist, too. As McCarthy’s saw it, commies were everywhere, and they were a grave threat to the American way of life.

His attacks went on, unchecked, for years.

Things came to a head when McCarthy, then chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, accused the U.S. Army of lax security at a top-secret facility. With his attorney Roy Cohn (more on him later) whispering in his ear, McCarthy charged that one of the Army’s junior attorneys had ties to a communist organization.

That’s when the Army’s chief counsel, Joseph Welch, spoke up.

“Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness.” When McCarthy began to sputter, Welch angrily cut him off.

“Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?”

That exchange was like pouring a bucket of water on the Wicked Witch of the West. According to the Senate Historical Office, McCarthy’s immense national popularity melted away almost overnight. Censured by his Senate colleagues, ostracized by his party, and ignored by the press, McCarthy slid into alcoholism and died three years later, a broken man.

Bad story, happy ending. If only it were so easy today.

Does anyone see similarities between Joe McCarthy and the current demagogue in Washington? The wild accusations, the recklessness, and the willingness to destroy innocent lives on a whim?

There’s a common thread connecting these two metastasized cancers on the body politic: Roy Cohn. Before he was disbarred as an attorney, Cohn represented clients ranging from mob bosses to the playboy heir of a low-income Brooklyn housing developer. Though separated by decades, Joe McCarthy and our current president both studied the dark arts under Roy Cohn.

The central strategy in his playbook is exploitation of other people’s vulnerabilities, twisting things to the point where human compassion is a weakness. The lesson is simple: If you open your heart, you are vulnerable.

This is why kindly librarians and school teachers are vilified in places like Bonners Ferry. It is why young medical professionals are steering clear of MAGA states like Idaho. It is why good-natured queer people are moving out of communities that seethe with intolerance and hate.

The exploitation of vulnerabilities doesn’t end there. It’s why tens of thousands of federal workers — many of whom voted for our president — just lost their jobs. Duped into thinking they had stable employment, they were tossed aside like toys to be broken.

Meanwhile, a lot of funding for bio-medical research is on hold. Measles — which was all but eradicated 20 years ago — is making a comeback. Polio is perking up, and the door is open for the next variant of COVID-19.

Welcome back, preventable diseases! Welcome, one and all.

So much misery, all in the name of government efficiency, all orchestrated by a man who looms over our president like the Terminator. Rather than firing a $38,000-a-year civil service employee, it would be more cost effective to cancel a $38 billion federal contract with a company owned by Elon Musk. Moreover, our president could cut back on playing golf, which costs taxpayers more than $1 million in security every time he plays a round.

It’s taken less than seven weeks, but our new president has revealed himself fully. He’s trampled the Constitution, alienated our allies, heartened our adversaries, and squashed everyone who has tried to hold him accountable. If the presidential election were held tomorrow, he would lose because his erratic deeds speak louder than his empty words.

As a society, we’ve seen enough to know he is unfit for office. It is time for another “Have you no sense of decency?” moment.

Nearly 2,000 years ago, the citizens of Rome thought their empire would last forever. They ignored the cracks in the walls, and the walls eventually came tumbling down.

As Americans, we suffer from the same hubris: “It could never happen here.”

Yes, it can.

Brock has been a Daily News columnist for more than 22 years. He has lived on the Palouse even longer.