If you had to guess, what do you think would be the most popular stories on Daily Kos in September 2023? Lots of Donald Trump? Lauren Boebert? Some Kevin McCarthy or Matt Gaetz nonsense? Well, let’s find out!
1. Leopards ate the face of this conservative Idaho community, by kos
Well, look at that. I took the top spot, and … I wouldn’t have guessed it would be this story. But in hindsight, it’s the perfect “Leopard Ate Face” story.
Here you have one of the most conservative towns, in one of the most conservative counties, in one of the most conservative states electing a pure MAGA school board, then realizing in abject horror what it means to actually live conservative principles.
Don’t worry, though. Despite recalling several of the MAGA-ites from their school board, they still love their Donald Trump, conservatism, and their right-wing Jesus, and they’d be happy to push for defunding Boise schools because the problem is those other people elsewhere. You know, the brown ones.
Rereading the story, I laughed again at this quote from one of the recall organizers: “This community is not going to back down. We are awake now and we are going to stay awake.”
Just don’t call it “woke.”
2. Lauren Boebert’s claims go up in smoke as new video emerges, by Mark Sumner
So Boebert clocks in at No. 2, which, given the entertainment value of the shenanigans, seems quite appropriate.
This, of course, is all about her eventful attendance at a local production of the “Beetlejuice” musical. What’s kind of amazing about this story is that it was written before we had that viral clip of the, er, affectionate part of her evening. This was a huge story even before we got to the most salacious details.
Mark does mention in passing that “at around 1:50 he does seem to engage in a public display of … does that count as affection?” But the story, at the time, was more concerned with her vaping in front of a pregnant woman and otherwise being as much of a nuisance to those around her as she is to the entire country when in Congress.
3. Cartoon: Mike Luckovich on Lauren Boebert, by Mike Luckovich
Cartoons do incredibly well for us, which makes me happy. Back in the day, my favorite part of any alt weekly was the cartoons page, catching up with Tom Tomorrow, Tom the Dancing Bug, and so many of the cartoons that we now feature on Daily Kos. And as someone who would devour newspapers as a child, editorial cartoonists like Mike Luckovich were a daily staple of my media-consumption diet. I’m so happy you guys appreciate the cartoonists as much as I do.
4. Trump stabs Eric in the back as the narcissist’s deposition reveals an unmoored liar, by TheCriticalMind
The community clocks in first at No. 4 this month, with this look at Donald Trump’s deposition, him throwing his hapless son under the bus, his repeated lapses of memory despite claiming he has “one of the great memories of all time,” and his wildly fluctuating self-valuations even amid a deposition. That leads TheCriticalMind to quip, “No wonder the guy is rich. He has tripled his money in five minutes while sitting in a lawyer’s office.”
It’s a hilarious story. I highly recommend it!
5. NBC MAY HAVE ALREADY LAUNCHED INVESTIGATIONS INTO WELKER-TRUMP “INTERVIEW” FOR NEWS RULES VIOLATIONS, by Keith Olbermann
No one was happy about the Kristen Welker interview of Donald Trump for her inaugural hosting of “Meet the Press.” Keith Olbermann wrote about a potential internal NBC investigation into a possible deal with Trump to limit the on-the-air fact-checking of his steady stream of lies.
Did NBC News make a deal with Trump’s campaign to make sure that didn’t happen – to NOT materially fact-check him on-the-air during the disastrous Kristen Welker interview? Is NBC News conducting internal investigations, or does it plan to? I do not know for certain the answers to these questions today. I do know they are among many questions being asked inside NBC today, in part because of ONE tweet, and in part because of the awful realization that some sort of illicit pre-arrangement is an almost better explanation than that Welker, and Meet The Press, and NBC News, abrogated virtually every one of its journalistic responsibilities in a Chris Licht-level dumpster fire that has left the long time viability of Welker, and her Executive Producer, and the nearly 76 year old program itself, up in the air.
6. Justice Alito makes Chief Justice Roberts look like a fool, by Joan McCarter
Y’all love love love stories about the Supreme Court, and anything having to do with corrupt Justice Clarence Thomas is absolute traffic gold. But Justices Samuel Alito and John Roberts don’t get a pass from you guys, nor should they.
The Supreme Court is a real danger to our nation, and your continued advocacy in favor of court reform will be absolutely essential to put pressure on lawmakers and show them that this is a priority.
7. Marjorie Taylor Greene is a target for Trump supporters after she posts about Jan. 6, by Walter Einenkel
Laura Loomer and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene are freakin’ nuts, but as long as they train their fire on each other, it’s kind of okay.
8. Cartoon: Lauren Boebert, Lauren Boebert, Lauren Boebert …, by Clay Jones
Another cartoon in the top 10, and yes, it’s about Lauren Boebert’s “Beetlejuice” moment.
9. Fox News host did not expect his Biden conspiracy to get blown apart on live TV, by Mark Sumner
You guys love schadenfreude stories. That’s what the “Leopard Ate Face” stories are all about. In this one, Fox News conspiracy theorist and host Brian Kilmeade had on former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, supposedly to support one of their Joe Biden conspiracies. But things did not go as planned.
10. More “Meet The Press” Fallout, by jamess
Another community story cracked the top 10! This story highlighted much of the anger from that “Meet the Press” farce of an interview with Trump.
So there are your top 10! You want more top stories? Here are the 10 after that:
11. Panicking McCarthy asks Biden to bail him out, by Joan McCarter
12. “I don’t!” he said quietly, by algray (Community)
13. Trump has mystery office near Mar-a-Lago, reportedly with ‘boxes everywhere’, by Mark Sumner
14. Gaetz attacks McCarthy in wild House speech, by Walter Einenkel
15. Sunday Four-Play: Actual Black people react to Trump’s ‘gangsta’ street cred, and Tim Kaine returns, by Aldous J Pennyfarthing (Community)
16. Fani Willis Woodsheds Jim Jordan, by KeithDB (Community)
17. Seattle residents go wildly off-script with Fox News reporter, by Hunter
18. ‘Abhorrent’: Ramaswamy spins out when confronted with his own words about Trump and Jan. 6, Aldous J. Pennyfarthing (Community)
19. David Brooks gets brutally mocked after complaint about $78 airport meal, by Laura Clawson
20. McConnell abandoned by post-Trump Republican electorate, by Kerry Eleveld
