Should Texas Democrats be More Like the Tea Party?

When conservatives didn’t like the direction of the Republican party, they dubbed the old guard RINOS and defeated many of them. It’s unclear whether branding their leaders DINOs will be as beneficial for activists on the Left.

February 21, 2017 8:46 am

We’ve heard a lot lately about what Democrats can learn from the Tea Party movement but it’s unclear whether the two groups are fighting the same type of battle. The Tea Party was attacking Republicans and some wonder if Texas Democrats will start going after members of their own party known as, “DINOs” or “Democrats in Name Only.”

Brendan Steinhauser was a top Tea Party strategist and is now a co-founder and partner at Steinhauser Strategies, a public relations government affairs and political consulting company based in Austin. He says that for Democrats to win more statewide elections, they should not push their party further to the left.

“They’ve got to build a big tent coalition to bring in some moderates and bring in some Republicans that maybe don’t like the direction of the Republican party,” Steinhauser says. “They may have to give up some of their bread and butter issues.”

What You’ll Hear in This Segment:

– How Democratic strategy will differ in other states than in Texas

– In what ways would Democrats benefit from following Tea Party strategies?

– In what ways would Democrats suffer from following Tea Party strategies?
Written by Emma Whalen.