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

It is really crucial that folks focus on their own representatives. If you call or write a member who does not represent you, I can tell you that contact is going to be a waste of time. You might as well just talk to yourself in your living room.

Members of Congress care about reelection most of all. And that means they care about their constituents. So you have to be a constituent to make your voice heard.

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

The bottom line is that every single member of Congress has to get voted into office every two or six years. That means they need to look really good in their home district and state. That means good local press. That means people in their district thinking, "Man, I really don't like Congress, but I like Senator Bob."

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

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.