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.

To the extent that we can shine a light on the bad things being done, that's going to have a positive impact.

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

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.

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."

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

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