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

Obama had a mandate for change and Trump clearly does not.

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.

Stiffening the spine of progressive members of Congress is crucial.

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

When someone is running for reelection in Texas, they're not looking for votes in California or New York.

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.