‘Send in the troops. The nation must restore order. The military stands ready.’
Aficionados of the New York Times may recall that these sentences appeared as the headline of Tom Cotton’s op-ed in June that led to the departure of the paper’s editorial page editor James Bennet. Bennet resurfaced as a guest author of Politico’s Playbook newsletter last week. But how the times have changed!
These days it is Washington DC mayor Muriel Bowser who has embraced the Cotton Doctrine. She is demanding that the city be placed into what amounts a state of martial law. Ten-thousand National Guard troops, up to 15,000, are slated to guard the city against the motley crew of right-wing extremists — 16 groups have applied for federal permits to protest — who are pledging to vindicate the honour of Donald Trump.
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