正如QinJin所说,It is vastly different in quantity and quality (treatment). 也正如你所说,"麦卡锡主义同毛泽东时代的镇压反革命、反右不可同日而语。" Only people like 继开 will compare these two.
In fact, Mccarthism was quite popular at that time. In January 1954, a Gallup poll found that 50% of the American public supported McCarthy, while 29% had an unfavorable opinion of the senator. Many ordinary Americans lent their support to McCarthyism. Of course, liberals hated Mccarthy, and they are controlling American media.