If people don't get as engaged as the tea party was, we're going to lose.

A lot of people are worried that many of our rights and privileges we've come to expect as part of the American democratic process will be abandoned or restricted in some way. That is a valid fear and it makes it all the more important that people get together now to prevent any possible damage.

I really do not think there is a serious split between Republicans and Democrats in Congress in how responsive they are to constituents.

The tea party had a lot of nasty tactics that were needlessly aggressive and petty and scary. But they proved it is indeed possible for a committed, relatively small number of folks across the country to make Congress listen to them and to slow and stop an agenda.

Another crucial thing the tea party did really well is to focus in on the folks who are more or less on your side, and make sure they are as bold as possible.

One strategy that the tea party smartly embraced was one of being almost entirely defensive. They consciously decided not to figure out which of their really abominable conservative policy priorities to prioritize. Instead, anything that came out of the Obama White House they were against. What they recognized is that when you've lost the White House and the House of Representatives and the Senate, you're not setting the agenda anymore. We progressives find ourselves in a similar situation now.

You have to be local. You have to focus on your local members of Congress.