If Democrats in Vacationland thought the censure of Rep. Laurel Libby would put an end to the education policy debate surrounding Title IX—and the participation of biological men in women’s sports—they’ve misread the moment, misread federal law, and badly misread their voters.
What was meant to silence dissent has only amplified it. What was supposed to end the debate has cracked it wide open.
In March, I wrote about how Democrats’ schizophrenic treatment of women’s sports—both existential and irrelevant, depending on the news cycle—was a political liability that helped cost them the 2024 election. Today, in Maine, that liability is becoming a full-blown revolt.
And yet, what are Governor Janet Mills and House Speaker Ryan Fecteau doing with this information? They’re ignoring it—and worse, they’re escalating.
While federal agencies investigate the University of Maine for potential Title IX violations, Maine Democrats are pushing legislation to mandate LGBTQ+ curriculum across public schools—from kindergarten through twelfth grade. It’s not enough to censure dissent. Now, they want to codify orthodoxy.
Libby was not just censured—her constituents were effectively erased from the legislative process for the audacity of posting two photos that exposed a truth the left couldn’t rebut. Fifth place in the boys’ division. First place in the girls’. One athlete. No words needed.
Fecteau reacted like a scalded Maine Coon Cat, clawing wildly at the messenger instead of addressing the message. They couldn’t defend the policy—so they weaponized the rhetoric instead.
Significantly, this week the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7–2 decision, issued a temporary order restoring Rep. Libby’s right to vote. It was a no-brainer—a textbook constitutional violation if ever there was one. The majority found the right to relief was “indisputably clear.”
And it is. The Court’s intervention didn’t just correct procedural abuse—it affirmed that Libby’s punishment wasn’t merely petty, but unconstitutional.
As Victor Davis Hanson noted in The Daily Signal, Governor Mills’s defiance increasingly resembles the nullification efforts of the antebellum South. It’s a fitting historical echo—and a dangerous one.
Some on the left now howl about “states’ rights”—their sudden fealty to the John C. Calhoun wing of the Democratic Party is nothing short of miraculous. The same party that once marched under the banner of federal supremacy now defies it without hesitation—so long as it advances their agenda and a Republican occupies 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
One of the great ironies here is that the imposition of biological men into women’s sports was driven almost entirely at the federal level—right up until January 20th of this year.
But suddenly, it’s “hands off my fill-in-the-blank.” The Constitution isn’t a Mad Libs game. But judging by their arguments, it’s producing some mad libs—literally and legally.
The issue here has nothing to do with state autonomy—it’s constitutional. The people of Libby’s district have a right to representation.
Unable to muster the votes for a formal expulsion, Maine Democrats orchestrated a de facto removal—stripping Rep. Libby of her voice and vote, and leaving House District 90 effectively unrepresented in the Maine Legislature.
Call it what it is: a coup. That doesn’t pass constitutional muster. You can’t disenfranchise voters.
If the progressive chorus wants to howl about voter suppression, they can start by answering for this. Because when Woke Orthodoxy conflicts with the Constitution, it’s clear which one they’re willing to discard.
A new SPRY Strategies poll lays bare just how far out of step Augusta’s political elite has drifted from its voters:
- 58% of Mainers support banning biological males from women’s sports—only 25% oppose it.
- A majority, 52.2%, back President Trump’s executive order enforcing that position.
- 68% oppose allowing K–12 school clinics to administer hormone blockers or vaccines without parental consent.
- And 69.1% reject sex-ed curricula introducing topics like masturbation to kindergartners.
That’s not a “fringe” position—it’s a bipartisan Main Street revolt.
And another survey by the American Parents Coalition underscores the same reality:
- 63% of registered Maine voters believe school sports participation should be based on biological sex.
- 66% agree it is “only fair to restrict women’s sports to biological women.”
As much as the Woke cartel tries to marginalize contrarian voices, the numbers don’t lie—their ideology is deeply out of step with the voters of Maine, and much of the country.
The real fringe? That would be the left’s activist class, amplified by media echo chambers as if they speak for America. But they don’t. The real consensus comes from moms, dads, grandparents, and ordinary Mainers—across party lines—watching their elected officials govern as if their voices don’t matter.
Maine may be small, but it could be the first to flip the script. The polling is already there. The issue is resonant. The overreach is blatant. The only question is whether Republicans in the state are prepared to capitalize on the opening.
Because make no mistake—there is an opening.
If Maine Republicans are smart, they’ll pay close attention to what voters are saying: We’re not buying what the progressive elite is selling—not on sports, not on censorship, and not on education.
The 2026 elections are closer than they look. And if recent history is any guide, the party that canceled common sense may be canceled by the voters it took for granted.
The adage used to be: As Maine goes, so goes the nation. But the roles may be reversing. Once a Republican bellwether, Maine has drifted into deep blue with a splash of purple—buoyed only by Donald Trump’s realignment strength and the political dexterity of Senator Susan Collins.
Yet, as the country turns away from the woke-cancel culture complex that has dominated for far too long, it’s not hard to imagine Maine following suit.
With over 3,000 miles of coastline, Mainers know the tides don’t ask permission before they shift. The cultural tide is turning—and if Maine is wise, it will swim with it before it’s swept away.
Charlton Allen is an attorney, former chief executive officer, and chief judicial officer of the North Carolina Industrial Commission. He is the founder of the Madison Center for Law & Liberty, Inc., editor of The American Salient, and the host of the Modern Federalist podcast. X: @CharltonAllenNC
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