The New Republic | The AI Backlash Is an Opportunity for Democrats by Monica Potts

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Residents from coast to countryside are mobilizing against the rapid, often secretive construction of energy‑intensive data centers, arguing that these facilities drain water, raise electricity costs, and lack community safeguards. The growing opposition—seen in hearings in Idaho, protests in Memphis, a moratorium veto in Maine, and even the ousting of town councilors in Missouri—highlights a broader unease with Big Tech’s expanding influence and the societal impacts of AI, especially large‑language models. While both parties claim to care about rising energy bills and job security, Democrats have yet to weave these concerns into a cohesive mid‑term platform, leaving an opening for them to champion regulation of AI and data‑center growth, hold tech companies accountable, and connect class‑based, affordability‑focused messaging with the mounting anger over unregulated tech expansion.

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