ABSTRACT
Partisan politics played a pivotal role in allowing Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy to continue his nefarious investigations. In 1953, his fellow Republicans took over the Senate and not only tolerated his continued activities, but also rewarded him with the chairmanship of the Permanent Investigations Subcommittee of the Government Operations Committee. Sen. Ralph E. Flanders introduced a resolution to remove McCarthy from his committee chairmanships and to prevent him from being appointed to any other posts until McCarthy answered questions pertaining to his role in the defeat of Sen. Millard B, Tydings. Flanders's resolution was opposed by Senate Majority Leader William Knowland, indicating that the Republicans were still protecting McCarthy. Flanders then substituted his resolution with one charging McCarthy with personal contempt of the Senate. The revelations in the Richard Baker case finally forced the Senate to form a bipartisan ethics committee in 1964: the Select Committee on Standards and Conduct.
