America's top cop is a rightwing culture warrior who hates disorder. What could go wrong?

[marmar]

America's top cop is a rightwing culture warrior who hates disorder. What could go wrong?
Lloyd Green

William Barr forged his worldview fighting protesters in the 1960s. Now he’s masterminding the US government’s crackdown on unrest
Sat 6 Jun 2020 02.30 EDTLast modified on Sat 6 Jun 2020 02.32 EDT


(Guardian UK) Maybe the 1960s never ended. Police, protesters and rioters once again fill our rage-filled streets and television screens. Amid a pandemic that has already claimed over 100,000 lives, a cultural divide that burst into flames more than a half-century ago is back – and burning furiously.

Earlier this week, Donald Trump seemed to morph into Richard Nixon, America’s self-proclaimed “law and order” president who resigned in disgrace. The cameras rolled as a Bible-brandishing president threatened to send US troops into America’s cities. As Trump stood in front of an Episcopal church near the White House, teargas canisters and flash-bang grenades exploded nearby.

In his inaugural address in 2017, Trump vowed to restore what he characterized as American greatness, strength, and safety. In William Barr, the US attorney general, Trump has a powerful and determined partner. It was Barr who personally ordered military police to clear peaceful protesters from around the White House, and Barr who is reportedly advocating an intense “flood the zone” show of authority. “The president sees Barr as the ‘bad cop’ he can unleash if states and cities don’t get their act together,” an administration official told the Daily Beast.

Both men aim to turn back the clock to a time when everyone “knew their place”. But where Trump has been a bumbling, self-interested and ideologically erratic leader – a weak man’s strongman – Barr is smart, dedicated and disciplined. He understands how to wield power and holds a consistent worldview. He’s an aggressive advocate for executive power and the police – who happens to be America’s top law enforcement officer at the same time as unrest roils the country. ...........(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/06/william-barr-trump-george-floyd-protests

[eppur_se_muova]

1. "A weak man's strongman" -- goes straight to the truth.

I remember Newt Gingrich was characterized as "what a stupid man thinks a smart man sounds like". GOPers seem to have a habit of trying to look like what people want while being just the opposite -- more out of incompetence, it seems, than guile, however abundant that may be.