Was McCarthy a traitor? Yes.

or, "Did McCarthy think Eisenhower was a Commie Spy?"

     McCarthy never had proof of squat, he was making it up as he went along, which is proved in the rapidly varying numbers of communists he cited.  Then, of course, there is the fact that Whittaker Chambers can not be considered without motivation.  To the best of my knowledge, Alger Hiss _never_ showed up in any of the post-Cold War released Soviet documents.

     But McCarthy was a traitor because IF there had been communist spies in the government, he should have brought that information to the proper authorities, instead of taking it straight to the press.  This makes it obviously a political ploy, grandstanding.  The President, then, Dwight David Eisenhower, is head of the Justice Department.  Even if McCarthy didn't trust the Attorney General, he certainly didn't think the 5 Star General was in on it. Ergo, he could have taken it to the proper authorities.

     The charges were bogus, he had little idea what he was talking about, but even if he had, he did an evil thing with the information, which UNDOUBTEDLY HELPED the Communists hide their behavior (stay low till the coast is clear, kinda thing).

     To me there is an important distinction between a person who believes in a freely elected government and more redistribution of wealth, and someone who was secretly working for the Soviets.