 Flanders was noted for introducing a 1954 motion in the Senate to censure Senator Joseph McCarthy . McCarthy had made sensational claims that there were large numbers of Communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers inside the federal government and elsewhere . He used his Senate committee as a nationally televised forum for attacks on individuals whom he accused . Flanders felt that McCarthy ’ s attacks distracted the nation from a much greater threat of Communist successes elsewhere in the world and that they had the effect of creating division and confusion within the United States , to the advantage of its enemies . Ultimately , McCarthy 's tactics and his inability to substantiate his claims led to his being discredited and censured by the United States Senate . 
