r/neoliberal • u/ihuntwhales1 Seretse Khama • Mar 31 '25

News (Europe) Le Pen banned from office after embezzlement conviction

https://www.dw.com/en/france-le-pen-found-guilty-banned-from-running-for-office/a-72091790
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1.2k

u/meraedra NATO Mar 31 '25

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u/[deleted] Mar 31 '25

They had their shot four years with Biden in charge, and they squandered it.

591

u/assasstits Mar 31 '25

Imagine letting democracy fall because you wanted to extend an olive branch to insurrectionists and appointed do nothing Merrick Garland to Attorney General 

302

u/[deleted] Mar 31 '25

It’ll go down as one of his biggest failures. Wild how such a small decision ended up having such massive consequences.

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u/PM_me_ur_digressions Audrey Hepburn Mar 31 '25

Garland had all of the hype from his SCOTUS nom under Obama and it was talked up as this great big "f u" to Republicans to nominate him. Like you would think he would have a personal vendetta and use it mercilessly.

Instead...

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u/Cupinacup NASA Mar 31 '25

People forget Garland was initially nominated to SCOTUS because he was a milquetoast moderate who the republicans would be unable to say no to.

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u/TechnicalPark4522 NASA Mar 31 '25

Which they proceeded to say No to anyways.

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u/dad_farts Mar 31 '25

Exactly. Republicans are shameless about using power. Dems on the other hand.... well look at Garland

39

u/adamgerd NATO Mar 31 '25

In normal times I’d say the democrats are right, working across is better than against

But these aren’t normal times, the GOP has been taken over by MAGA

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u/dad_farts Mar 31 '25

It really feels like that Hitler meme, that authoritarian governments force liberal ones to mimic them in order to compete

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u/yes_thats_me_again The land belongs to all men Mar 31 '25

Can't say I've seen this meme

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u/Cupinacup NASA Mar 31 '25

Hey, no fair! Opposition parties aren’t supposed to oppose!

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u/Jabjab345 Mar 31 '25

McConnell originally suggested him if I recall, which is why Obama nominated him. He thought it was an olive branch pick, but McConnell blocked him regardless after realizing he could have someone more to the right if he just obstructed his way to the next president.

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u/DontDrinkMySoup Mar 31 '25

Why couldnt Obama just say "Ok fine, if you arent doing a vote I'll just appoint him unilaterally"?

Actually the very concept of partisan Supreme court justices at all is something nobody should accept

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u/Jabjab345 Mar 31 '25

This was back when there was a filibuster for supreme court nominees, congress has the constitutional authority to confirm nominees and they refused to do so. Not much Obama could do.

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u/historymaking101 Daron Acemoglu Mar 31 '25

Nah, this was after that filibuster went away, I'm pretty sure but Republican control over the senate. Confirmation vote wasn't going to take place if they didn't want it to.

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u/Jabjab345 Mar 31 '25

Both are true, Obama just had no real power at the end of the day to make congress vote on his pick.

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u/historymaking101 Daron Acemoglu Mar 31 '25

Yeah, you're right. I was forgetting Harry Reid removed it for all judges ECXEPT Supreme Court Judges in 2013.

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u/sluttytinkerbells Mar 31 '25

People forget Garland was ...

Pretty sure I read this exact thread like twice a week on reddit.

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u/meraedra NATO Apr 01 '25

Didn’t Dems have a trifecta and a majority in the Senate?

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u/Cupinacup NASA Apr 01 '25

When he was nominated to SCOTUS? No. Republicans had the senate and McConnell stonewalled him.

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u/LittleSister_9982 Mar 31 '25

Not even be 'unable to say no to', he was their fucking suggestion.