AG William Barr on Aug. 9 criticized members of the Democratic Party who, during a hearing last month, remained silent on the burning of federal courts. //

Barr claimed that Democrats now believe in “tearing down the system” and pursue absolute victory as “a substitute for religion.”

“I think what’s happened is that the left-wing has really withdrawn and pulled away from the umbrella of classical liberal values that have undergirded our society since our founding,” Barr continued. “And within the family, we’ve had two ways of resolving disputes. One is discussion, the dialectic, the marketplace of ideas, trying to arrive at the truth.”

“We had an idea that there was some truth to arrive at. And then if we couldn’t reach agreement, a vote, and that’s how we operated.”

Barr added that he believes the left has now “essentially withdrawn from this model” and instead represents a “Rousseauian revolutionary party that believes in tearing down the system.”

“They’re interested in complete political victory, they’re not interested in compromise, dialect, exchange of views. It’s a secular religion, it’s a substitute for religion,” Barr added. “They view their political opponents as evil, because we stand in the way of their ‘progressive utopia’ that they’re trying to reach. That’s what gives the intensity to the partisan feeling that people feel today.”