By 1954, when the Senate censured him for his "inexcusable" and "reprehensible" behavior, McCarthy's name had become synonymous with demagoguery. HUAC's star waned soon after, and the committee was dissolved in 1975. Paranoid anti-communist organizations like the John Birch Society maintained their vigilance against the (increasingly imaginary) communist threat, but most everyone else moved on.

Until now.