[Yardstick]

Coulter is a bombthrower, but she did her homework when she wrote Treason. Her research was very thorough. You're right though that as soon as Coulter's name was mentioned, the professor would tune out (or freak out). A good strategy would be to use the endnotes in Treason to find original sources, then use those to support your arguments.

[jude24]

A good strategy would be to use the endnotes in Treason to find original sources

That's not a horrible idea, but one's research mustn't stop there. Indeed, use the footnotes from her professor's materials too.

Base everything on primary source materials and writers contemporary to the McCarthy era.

My final comment would be that we as conservatives should not feel bound to defend the excesses of McCarthy. Were there Communists in the State Dept.? Probably. But McCarthy went well too far. Even Eisenhower (no Communist he) loathed McCarthy.