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Democrats BRAG about violating the Constitution to ‘save’ democracy

Nypost · · 712 words · By Jonathan Turley
Democratic Process Constitutionalism Political polarization
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What to know about Democratic Process

Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is actually running for governor on her willingness to take flagrantly unconstitutional action.

Claims checked 9
Techniques found 5
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left14%
Center72%
Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is actually running for governor on her willingness to take flagrantly unconstitutional action.

Why it matters

A former ACLU executive director in Maine, Bellows is touting her decision to remove Trump from the ballot in 2024, a move the Supreme Court unanimously swatted down in Colorado and Maine.

Common ground

Bellows is virtually giddy recounting her efforts to stymie democracy and prevent voters from casting their ballots for the man who ultimately won the election.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling, Exaggeration / Hyperbole: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/04/12/opinion/dems-actually-brag-about-violating-the-con…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 5 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 90% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Name Calling / Labeling 85% confidence
Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Exaggeration / Hyperbole 75% confidence
Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Hasty Generalization 70% confidence
Drawing broad conclusions from a small or unrepresentative sample.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing hasty generalization helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Transfer 80% confidence
Projecting positive or negative qualities of one thing onto another to make it accepted or rejected.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing transfer helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5
verified Verified 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
info Single Source 1
verified
Claim 1: “A former ACLU executive director in Maine, Bellows is touting her decision to remove Trump from the ballot in 2024”
VERIFIED
Wikipedia confirms Shenna Bellows is the Secretary of State of Maine and a civil rights advocate. Multiple web search results confirm she ruled to disqualify Donald Trump from the Maine primary ballot.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2014 United States Senate election in Maine took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins, who had served in the position since 1997, won election to a fourth term in …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_United_States_Senate_elec…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — No Kings protests (also called No Kings 2 and No Kings Day 2.0) took place on October 18, 2025, as part of a series of demonstrations taking place largely in the United States against Donald Trump's p…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2025_No_Kings_protests
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Shenna Lee Bellows (born March 23, 1975) is an American politician and civil rights advocate who has served as the 50th Secretary of State of Maine since January 2021. She is the first woman to hold t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenna_Bellows
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 2: “Shenna Bellows has long embraced extreme political and historical viewpoints, including denouncing the electoral college as a “relic of white supremacy.””
CORROBORATED
Two separate web search results explicitly quote or paraphrase Bellows describing the Electoral College as a 'relic of white supremacy'.
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web search NEUTRAL — Shenna Bellows, Maine's secretary of state, on Thursday ruled that Donald Trump should be disqualified from their March primary ballot.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12913261/Maine-Secr…
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web search NEUTRAL — In addition, Bellows at one time called the Electoral College a “relic of white supremacy.” According to White House visitor logs, Bellows attended a Women’s History Month event on March 22, where she…
https://lawenforcementtoday.com/hyper-partisan-maines-secret…
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web search NEUTRAL — On January 8, 2025, Shenna Bellows was sworn in for her third, two-year term as Maine’s 50th secretary of state.Bellows criticized the Electoral College as “a relic of white supremacy.”
https://ivn.us/posts/3-states-partisans-pick-secretary-state…
verified
Claim 3: “A superior judge enjoined her, and she repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to get the matter before a higher court.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While evidence confirms Bellows tried to remove Trump and the Supreme Court eventually intervened, the provided evidence does not specifically detail a 'superior judge' enjoining her or the specific sequence of unsuccessful appeals to higher courts prior to the SCOTUS ruling.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The second Trump administration has issued executive orders and other presidential directives instituting federal department and agency actions that have impacted election administration by state gove…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election_law_and_voting_rights…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donald Trump's eligibility to run in the 2024 U.S. presidential election was the subject of dispute due to his alleged involvement in the January 6 Capitol attack under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Ame…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_eligibility_of_Do…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Shenna Lee Bellows (born March 23, 1975) is an American politician and civil rights advocate who has served as the 50th Secretary of State of Maine since January 2021. She is the first woman to hold t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenna_Bellows
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 4: “She also declared that voter-ID laws are “rooted in white supremacy.””
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm Bellows stated that voter ID laws are 'rooted in white supremacy'.
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web search NEUTRAL — Maine's Democrat secretary of state, Shenna Bellows, previously said that voter ID laws aimed at ensuring election integrity are "rooted in White supremacy."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/maine-democrat-barred-trump…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Shenna Lee Bellows is an American politician and civil rights advocate who has served as the 50th Secretary of State of Maine since January 2021. She is the first woman to hold this position.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenna_Bellows
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Maine's Secretary of State opposes Voter ID Laws based on accusations of racism, but lawmakers should question her argument.In 2021, Bellows opposed similar legislation, telling the Veterans and Legal…
https://www.themainewire.com/2023/01/maine-voter-id-shenna-b…
info
Claim 5: “New York congressional candidate George Conway is even pledging to ease impeachment rules to secure the removal of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim appears in a specific web search result ('Maine's Bellows Campaigns on Failed Trump Ballot Removal'), but other sources (Wikipedia, other web results) do not mention this specific pledge regarding impeachment rules for Trump and Vance.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — George Thomas Conway III (born September 2, 1963) is an American lawyer and activist. Conway argued and won the 2010 case Morrison v. National Australia Bank before the Supreme Court of the United Sta…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Conway
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Kellyanne Elizabeth Conway (née Fitzpatrick; born January 20, 1967) is an American political consultant and pollster who served as Senior Counselor to the President in the first presidency of Donald …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kellyanne_Conway
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump was a criminal case against Donald Trump, a then-former president of the United States. Trump was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying bus…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosecution_of_Donald_Trump_in…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 6: “Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.””
CORROBORATED
Two independent cross-references from the same organization (Nypost) confirm Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the author of the specified book.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
https://nypost.com/2026/04/16/opinion/democrat-states-are-de…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the New York Times best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
https://nypost.com/2026/05/17/opinion/why-israels-lawsuit-ag…
verified
Claim 7: “neither Trump nor his associates were ever charged with insurrection”
VERIFIED
A guide to Trump's criminal cases explicitly states that while he has been charged with other crimes, he has not been charged with insurrection.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Donald John Trump is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump
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web search NEUTRAL — He's been charged with four criminal counts, including conspiracy to defraud the US and conspiracy against the rights of citizens. Some had speculated he would be charged with insurrection, or aiding …
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61084161
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Donald J. Trump was the 45th U.S. president. He was elected in November 2016 and served until January 2021.Before winning the U.S. presidency, Trump never held any elected or appointed government offi…
https://www.history.com/articles/donald-trump
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Claim 8: “Even Maine Democratic Rep. Jared Golden denounced Bellows’ decision to bar Trump from the primary.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (Newsweek, other web results) confirm that Democratic Rep. Jared Golden criticized/denounced Bellows' decision to bar Trump from the ballot.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine were held on November 5, 2024, to elect both U.S. representatives from the state of Maine, one from each of the state's congressional…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_States_House_of_Re…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Jared Forrest Golden (born July 25, 1982) is an American politician and Marine Corps veteran serving as the U.S. representative for Maine's 2nd congressional district since 2019. A Democrat, he repres…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Golden
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Maine's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Maine. Covering 27,326 square miles (70,770 km2), it comprises nearly 92% of the state's total land area. The distri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine's_2nd_congressional_dist…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 9: “a move the Supreme Court unanimously swatted down in Colorado and Maine”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (AP News, web search results) confirm the Supreme Court rejected efforts to remove Trump from the ballot in Colorado and Maine.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — With the advice and consent of the United States Senate, the President of the United States appoints the members of the Supreme Court of the United States, which is the highest court of the federal ju…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_Supreme_Court_can…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest-ranking judicial body in the United States. Its membership, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, consists of the chief justice of the United State…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_justices_of_the_Suprem…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_St…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.