"I don't know much about him, but when I hear his name, a negative impression comes wafting in from my subconscious. I'm sure this is from years of unexamined exposure to the leftist charicature that exists in the various media -- Hoover as a paranoid nut, Hoover in a dress and high heels, etc. I used to get a similar impression of McCarthy, before I learned more about him."
This is the MO of today's left and the media:
"Members and front organizations must continually embarrass, discredit and degrade our critics … when obstructionists become too irritating, label them as fascist or Nazi or anti-Semitic … Constantly associate those who oppose us with those names that already have a bad smell. The association will, after enough repetition, become 'fact' in the public mind."
--CCCP 1943
*...follow up