The Greatest Hits of 2014.

So it is the time of year when we all look back on the year that has past, and compile top ten lists, or something. So I started to compile a list of the top DL posts of 2014. But what’s the criteria we are judging by? Page views? Number of comments? Best Subject Matter? Most controversial? The last two criteria area are subjective, and usually if a post is controversial or a highly “viral” subject matter, like this year with charter and priority schools and Chip Flowers, they tend to already generate the most comments and page views. El Somnambulo has already posted his Good, Bad and the Ridiculous column this morning, and that focused substantively on the crazy Delaware political stories this year. So I am going to strictly follow the page view criteria. So, excluding the main and index pages, and this post by Jason330 in 2012 about Bacon numbers, which, for some reason, gets tons of views yearly (probably because of a good Google search term), here are the most viewed stories by Delaware Liberal contributors this year….

11. Someone took some bullshit DEGOP signs that said “Vote Republican”, by Jason330 — (2,010) — As the video below clearly shows, the husband of Senator Bethany Hall Long was caught red-handed in stealing some generic GOP signs in the middle of the night. Obviously the most embarrassing political story of the year, yet only slightly more embarrassing than the Faux-rage from the Republicans following this incident.

10. Shockingly Candid Response to ACLU “Resegregation” Lawsuit, by Jason330 — (2,042) — Jason reported the news of the Delaware ACLU’s lawsuit against schools alleging that they were causing resegregation, along with his sarcastic yet equally accurate parody report:

In response to the complaint a Charter School Advocate said, “Re-segregation? No shit Sherlock. That’s the whole idea.” Or, rather, that’s what they would have said had they been shot with a dart containing sodium penathol.

9. Primary Bombshell?: Claims of Harassment Against Treasurer Flowers (Updated), by Delaware Dem — (2,149) — This post covered the latest blow up between Treasurer Flowers and Erika Benner and her son. Ultimately, this blow up led to Flowers quitting the race.

8. MORE BREAKING (x2): Pictures of Flowers at the Patriots Game, by Cassandra — (2,177) — More on the Primary Bombshell that forced Flowers from the Treasurer’s race. Man, if only things could have gone differently. As I have said, Flowers was an excellent retail politician. If he had never met Erika Benner, never had any expense scandal or non-scandal, he would still be treasurer today and a leading figure in challenging the Delaware Way. But if you are going to kill the King, you better not miss, and you better be clean.

7. Is Sean Barney planning a late October surprise or something?, by Jason330 — (2,182) — The warning signs of the coming Simpler win are all seen in this simple observational post that generated tons of comments.

I’m asking, because I’m not seeing much campaigning. Is it me? Is Sean Barney absolutely crushing it outside of lower New Castle County? Granted, my interest in this campaign is minimal, so my political radar isn’t constantly scanning the horizon – but that makes me a normal voter this round. Or maybe this is the strategy, keep a low profile and just ride the registration advantage to a win? If anyone has some insight into this race, I’d be eager to hear it.

6. The Polls Are Closed! Primary Election Results Thread, by Cassandra — (2,225) — The next three entries are election threads, and given that this was an election, that is not surprising. Here, we were watching and discussing the primary election results, which had several incumbents go down to defeat.

5. Election Night Results Thread, by Delaware Dem — (2,271) — This is self explanatory. Here is where we all gathered to watch and comment on the horrible returns.

4. Election Filing Deadline Preview & Open Thread, by El Somnambulo — (2,315) — Wherein we tracked the late filers on the day of the deadline. We waited to see if Dave Tackett would primary Bryan Townsend, or if Tom Wagner would run for reelection. Interestingly, both did file, and both races played out exactly the opposite of early conventional wisdom. Townsend trounced Tackett in the end, though at the beginning it was supposed to be a tough challenge for Townsend. And we all assumed Mayrack would beat Wagner easily, because it is obvious to all that Wagner is just collecting a paycheck and not actually doing his job. We were wrong.

3. Did Rapist Skate Due to DuPont Family Ties Only to Rape Again?, by El Somnambulo — (2,761) — That this bombshell did not destroy Judge Jan Jurden’s judicial career (instead of getting her a promotion last week) is another great example of the Delaware Way.

You have only to read this excerpt from McJournal to get your blood boiling:

A du Pont family heir who received no prison time after pleading guilty to raping his 3-year-old daughter nearly a decade ago faces a lawsuit from his former wife that accuses him of sexually abusing his toddler son.

Robert H. Richards IV, 47, on probation after pleading guilty in 2008 to fourth-degree rape of his daughter, has never been charged with crimes against his son. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Superior Court provides in-depth details about a child rape case that did not receive media attention and Delaware authorities never disclosed publicly.

And the alleged rapist?:

(Robert) Richards is a scion of two prominent Delaware families – the du Pont family, who built the worldwide chemical empire, and the Richards family, who co-founded the prestigious corporate law firm Richards Layton & Finger. Du Pont family patriarch Irenee du Pont is his great-grandfather. His father, Robert H. Richards III, was a partner in the law firm until his 2008 retirement.

Richards IV is supported by a trust fund and paid $1.8 million for his 5,800-square-foot mansion near Winterthur Museum. He also lists a home in the exclusive North Shores neighborhood near Rehoboth Beach as a residence, according to the state’s sex abuse registry.

So, he pled guilty in 2008 and got probation. For raping his toddler daughter. Let’s see…who was AG in 2008? That’d be Beau Biden, scourge of pathetic old men viewing kiddie porn on their computers. The guy who has made keeping kids safe from predators his principal (only?) issue. How is it that a child rape case prosecuted by Biden’s office did not receive media attention and Delaware authorities never disclosed (it) publicly?

2. How to test if your RELIGIOUS FREEDOM!!! is really being infringed upon, by Delaware Dem –(4,164) — I have to believe this post also went viral, but I don’t know the original source of what made it go.

The current excuse for the evil bigotry the Republican Party has displayed and advanced with respect to gays and marriage equality is that state action recognizing gay marriage and banning discrimination against gays infringes the religious freedom of those who oppose gays on religious grounds.

The Reverend Emily C. Heath of the United Church of Christ has published a wonderful test to determine whether a person’s religious freedom is truly being violated. Let’s take it together, shall we?

1. Thursday Open Thread for October 23, 2014, by Delaware Dem — (5,434) — This one is #1 for the simple reason that it went viral due to a Reddit link. The subject matter that caused it to go viral: this juxtaposition of a responsible Canadian media and the hypetastic fearmongering US media in response to the Ottawa Terror Attack in October.