American Tipping Point

Dear Friend,

We’re at the end of summer, the beginning of fall, accelerating, fast, towards the November elections, and something about our politics has shifted. Subtle, but it feels consequential.

My thesis: The country and its middle-of-the-road voters have reached a tipping point. Donald Trump is losing his audience -- maybe not the haters, the baiters, and the tear-it-all-downers, but the rest of his surprisingly diverse coalition.

You may disagree. You may believe in your bones that democracy is irretrievably broken. Or that Trump will find some way to steal the election or suppress the vote.

I'm more optimistic, in part due to talks with erstwhile Trump backers in my senate district who are moving beyond his orbit.

Some of these voters are outraged at the big muddy in Iran. (Trump said he’d keep us out of foreign wars.)

Some, even as they fault the Democrats for having let border security go to pot, are appalled by the murderous violence and sheer malevolence of ICE. (They thought Trump would round up the murderers and the rapists and otherwise use a soft touch.)

Some can’t believe the naked display of avarice, the bribes accepted and the payoffs made. (They thought for sure he’d drain the Washington swamp. After all, he doesn’t need the money, right?)

And others -- many others -- are up against it in their personal finances and see things only getting worse. (He promised he’d cut the budget, reduce the deficit and make our groceries affordable again.)

The headline atop a NYT survey for September: “Even some Republicans are losing faith in Trump’s economy.” The paper's Nate Cohn writes, “The poll shows, yet again, that Democrats are making huge gains among young and nonwhite voters, particularly Hispanic ones. This suggests that Democrats could be poised to make outsize gains in relatively young, nonwhite and particularly Hispanic areas — first and foremost Texas.”

And now we see new issues, almost invisible six months ago, busting out all over. For young people, non-college and college alike, a great awakening on the dangers of artificial intelligence is turbo-charged by Trump’s insistence that worry about AI and jobs -- about AI and life as we know it, for that matter -- is all just “negative forces,” a “SICK conspiracy” signifying nothing. Since AI execs themselves express great worry, I suppose Trump believes they’re sick and conspiring against themselves.

When the nationally-respected UMass Poll asks Americans, “How well would you say that President Trump has handled artificial intelligence?” 68% of Independent voters -- swing voters -- say “Not Well”. Perhaps just as telling, fully 25% of those who voted for Trump for president in 2024 respond “Not Well,” too.

Trump’s response? He wants us to know “the only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!”

But a lot of his voters aren’t sipping the Kool-Aid anymore. Many of them are issue-oriented, even if we progressives haven’t always noticed. This issue-oriented constituency is on the move.

I can’t be definite about what this means for November. I can’t tell you, specifically, that Democrats are going to retake the U.S. Senate. But I can say with confidence that a pivot is underway. For Donald Trump, the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder.

Mike

"The veto override Waltham needed"

The Boston Globe

“Greater Boston is looking at a necessary time of renewal and self-invention,” state Senator Michael Barrett, whose district covers Waltham, told the editorial board. “Waltham is showing us how it’s done.”

"Mass. to help finance Maine power line for Aroostook County wind farms"

The Boston Globe

Senator Mike Barrett, cochairman of the Massachusetts Legislature’s telecom and energy committee, hailed the news from Augusta as a relief in the face of Trump administration opposition to all the major offshore wind farms that were once planned to support the region’s grid.

“Electricity that pours into that grid from Maine ultimately helps with the Massachusetts capacity, especially on overtaxed and hot days, and especially cold ones,” Barrett said. “It is further indication that we’re going to survive Donald Trump too. We’re adding to both grid capacity and clean energy supply in the face of non-cooperation, to say the least, from D.C.”

"State budget includes local aid hike, $150K-plus for Concord initiatives"

The Concord Bridge

Concord is getting more than officials expected from the state’s 2027 fiscal year budget.

The town and local organizations are also celebrating more than $150,000 in earmarks to pay for line items including playground equipment and emergency healthcare planning.

“I’m glad we were able to come through,” state Sen. Michael Barrett said in a statement touting $30,000 to OARS Inc. for water quality monitoring in area rivers.

WCVB: "MA Senate leaders unveil plan to cut energy bills by $14 billion"

A committee of negotiators from both chambers of the State Legislature has been appointed to craft compromise legislation to lower people's energy bills. I was tapped to serve as Senate Chair.

For more information about the Senate's approach, watch the video above.

Carlisle Dems dodge the rain

Folks in my State Senate district zigged rain drops and zagged eager candidates yesterday to enjoy the Carlisle Democratic Town Committee's annual picnic. Thank you, Bob Wallhagen, for hosting!

De-ICE Hanscom!

ICE has been using Hanscom Field in my district to advance Trump's deportation agenda. I joined protestors to tell ICE to get lost.

Disability Reframed

A snapshot from a panel discussion I attended at GBH entitled “Disability Reframed: Celebrating Our Childhood on TV.” Author Emily Ladau and violinist Adrian Anantawan led an impactful conversation about the importance of disability representation and accessibility in the media.

Thanks for the help, guys!

We recently said goodbye to our summer interns -- Hayden, Cole, Aris, and Grace -- as they wrapped up their time in the office. They spent the summer digging into topics like child care, pesticide use, and energy interconnection. Impressive stuff. Wishing the best of luck to them all.