If you liked Bill Barr's words on Trump indictment, you'll love what he says about Jan. 6

In the latest chapter of Donald Trump, the one in which the former president is indicted over his handling of classified documents, the American left has found its oracle.

William Pelham Barr.

The man who served two Republican presidents as attorney general and was fired by the second for telling him his claims of election fraud were bull, has for a moment become the left’s object of admiration.

I give liberals credit for astounding good judgment.

After indictment, Bill Barr says Trump 'is toast'

The Bill Barr unleashed from the demands of partisan administrations is an independent thinker who is well educated, highly experienced in the ways of Washington, and candid in his observations of American life.

Today he is seriously smacking the people on his side of the aisle — the Republicans — telling them to wake the hell up on the Trump indictment.

“If even half of this is true, (Donald Trump) is toast,” said Barr. “I mean, it’s a very detailed indictment, and it’s very, very damning.”

This is manna for liberals, such as the Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin:

“Barr can play a vital role in helping Republicans accept that their front-runner for the 2024 presidential nomination faces the likelihood of trial and conviction — developments that cannot be wished away.”

It's not personal. He's an independent thinker

Though Trump fired Barr, this isn’t personal.

Barr understands Trump and knows well the inner workings of the White House and Justice Department and can read an indictment.

“This idea of presenting Trump as a victim here or a victim of a witch hunt is ridiculous,” Barr said. “Yes, he’s been a victim in the past. ... He’s not a victim here.”

Informed, independent thinkers such as Barr are gold because they are not afraid to cut across the conventional wisdom, in this case within the Republican Party.

Unlike kneejerk partisans, who can be purchased in bulk, independent thinkers push our brain from its hammock and demand we look hard at our own preconceived ideals.

Barr also has strong words for Democrats

Now it’s the left’s turn.

Time for liberals to consume a daily recommended diet of independent thinking, via William P. Barr, that will challenge them.

In a May 5 Q&A at the City Club of Cleveland that was broadcast on C-SPAN, Barr described the panoramic of American politics:

“The big dynamic in our country over the past 30 or 40 years has been the move of the Democratic Party sharply to the left, and that’s not me talking as a partisan. Every empirical study has showed that’s the case.

“They’ve left a lot of people behind them and they’re kowtowing to a more radical group in the party. That’s part of the dynamic that brought Trump to power. Frustration with that.

The problem, Barr says, is totalitarianism

“... I feel the way for the country (to get) back was for the Republican Party to get the hint and put up somebody who is quasi-normal for president of the United States.

“I think that would lead to an astounding victory ... to show that there is an alternative other than extremism on the other side.”

“The threat to American democracy is not authoritarian black shirts coming from the right. It’s not that kind of threat.

In Arizona: GOP senator shared QAnon slogans on Facebook

“The threat of totalitarianism as (French political philosopher Alexis) de Tocqueville wrote in the 1830s which is, it’s more the progressive totalitarianism that a lot of classical liberals (such as Bari Weiss and Andrew Sullivan) are now (opposing).

“It is totalitarian. Who are the people losing their jobs these days? Is it people on the left? No. I mean there’s more McCarthyism happening in this country than happened in McCarthy’s day.

“... I think the people on the right are not actually the threat to the democratic system.

Jan. 6 was a 'clown show,' not a threat

“I thought Jan. 6 was a clown show. Anyone who thinks the Republic was in serious danger on Jan. 6 is out of touch.

“You had a control room with (Trump lawyer) Rudy Giuliani and (former Trump advisor Steve) Bannon and those people. The country couldn’t have been safer. (Audience laughs.)

“This was a Keystone Cops operation that played into the hands of their adversaries. And people say, ‘Why were they treated more differently than the people (liberal protesters who attacked the federal courthouse) in Portland?’

“No one feels that more keenly than I because we were trying to deal with people in Portland. That was an attack on American institutions.

“But they all dressed the same — all dressed in black, wore masks, came out at night with no distinguishing features. Very hard to build a case.

“Only people on the right would go walking into the most photographed place in the country, all wearing distinctive clothing and no face masks. I mean, the thing was a joke.

“And I would point out, no agency in the federal branch went along with this. No state went along with it. No Republican governor. No Republican legislature. No attorney general, deputy attorneys general ... no lawyers in the other agencies. It was a farce like most things that Trump cooks up on his own.”

There you have it. Independent thinking.

Now everyone can go back to their partisan corners and jerk their knees.

Phil Boas is an editorial columnist for The Arizona Republic. Email him at phil.boas@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Bill Barr is an independent thinker on Trump and Jan. 6. We need that