Shane Goldmacher

And they're angry at how much of the agenda he's enacting and how much Republicans are failing to stop it.

And they're angry at how much of the agenda he's enacting and how much Republicans are failing to stop it.

You start to see this anger at public forums.

You start to see this anger at public forums.

Republicans shouting down Democratic lawmakers about their agenda.

Republicans shouting down Democratic lawmakers about their agenda.

And real activism. And you see this anger and activism expressed in Republican primaries all across the country. Mm-hmm.

And real activism. And you see this anger and activism expressed in Republican primaries all across the country. Mm-hmm.

Where outsider, younger, and angrier candidates are suddenly winning.

Where outsider, younger, and angrier candidates are suddenly winning.

They're beating the old guard of the Republican Party in ways that the party just didn't expect. And this anger was changing the Republican Party from within. And one of the people elected in this changing of the guard of the Republican Party was Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.

They're beating the old guard of the Republican Party in ways that the party just didn't expect. And this anger was changing the Republican Party from within. And one of the people elected in this changing of the guard of the Republican Party was Senator Ted Cruz of Texas.

And if there's one moment that crystallizes the Tea Party's strategy during those years, it's what Ted Cruz did in the fall of 2013. Why? Senator from Texas. because this is when he pushed his Republican colleagues to shut down the federal government as a last-ditch effort to stop Obamacare.

And if there's one moment that crystallizes the Tea Party's strategy during those years, it's what Ted Cruz did in the fall of 2013. Why? Senator from Texas. because this is when he pushed his Republican colleagues to shut down the federal government as a last-ditch effort to stop Obamacare.

And it was clear at the time that Ted Cruz had no path to victory here, that Barack Obama was not going to sign a measure to unwind his signature achievement. But the tactic, it was to fight, it was to fight, and it was to mobilize that anger and say, I am out here with you. I am willing to have this fight even if we can't win. And suddenly you see Democrats in the same place.

And it was clear at the time that Ted Cruz had no path to victory here, that Barack Obama was not going to sign a measure to unwind his signature achievement. But the tactic, it was to fight, it was to fight, and it was to mobilize that anger and say, I am out here with you. I am willing to have this fight even if we can't win. And suddenly you see Democrats in the same place.

This last week, they were talking about using the exact same tool, shutting down the federal government without necessarily an endgame, that the fight itself was worth having because if you didn't have the fight, you weren't actually speaking to where Democratic voters are.

This last week, they were talking about using the exact same tool, shutting down the federal government without necessarily an endgame, that the fight itself was worth having because if you didn't have the fight, you weren't actually speaking to where Democratic voters are.

It's anything to avoid the current status quo. And to be clear, this energy and this dynamic was there before this shutdown fight. And this split inside the Democratic Party, it sort of begins generationally. It's the younger generation of Democratic officials who are expressing the greatest level of frustration.

It's anything to avoid the current status quo. And to be clear, this energy and this dynamic was there before this shutdown fight. And this split inside the Democratic Party, it sort of begins generationally. It's the younger generation of Democratic officials who are expressing the greatest level of frustration.