Faux News would be proud

I'm reading Lenin's Tomb right now and this passage from Dmitri Volkogonov (who wrote the first negative biography in the Soviet Union published in 1988) struck a chord. He spoke during a Ministry of Defense (minidef) session and was denounced by Communist hardliners, so he said:

"I am no less a patriot than [General Valentin} Falin and love the Motherland no less than he...but you cannot change the consequences of history. I agree with those who say there are many faults in this volume...but let's discuss and debate them. We'll give our points of view. But, no, comrade Falin and some others do not engage in scholarly debate, but rather make accusations about a lack of patriotism."

We hear these same accusations by the rightwing in United States politics against liberals.