Instead of boos, there was a standing ovation. Instead of angry chants, there was a request for a selfie.

But the anxious liberals at Sen. Chris Murphy's town hall meeting on Tuesday night were no less fired up than the crowds confronting Republican members of Congress in red states.

More than 450 constituents from across the Connecticut crammed into the West Hartford town hall auditorium; with several dozen more watching the proceedings in an overflow room. Hundreds more were shut out completely when the fire marshal closed the building more than a half hour before the 7:30 start because it reached capacity.

They questioned Murphy, one of the Senate's most liberal members, about climate change, immigration, race relations, abortion, the Dakota access pipeline and a host of other issues. Above all, they wanted to know how to channel their resistence to President Trump.

Elissa Johnson, a science teacher from New Fairfield, said she has heard some Trump critics say they have to choose their battles. "I've seen several pretty low-hanging battles go down already,'' she told Murphy. "Is it OK to dump mining debris into a stream? Is it OK to vent methane...on public lands? When are they going to chose to do the right thing, and if they don't what's your strategy?"

Murphy responded with a dose of realpolitik: "You have to win elections. We just need to be honest with ourselves. Your strategy is always going to be incomplete if you lose elections. This is not a political rally...we are going to do everything we can but the oil industry right now controls the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House, so as smart as my strategy is, it can't obviate the fact that the Koch brothers and all of that massive money essentially bought themselves a Congress and a White House that will do what they want."

Afterward, Johnson said she was not fully satisfied with Murphy's response. "I understand the constraints but I don't think we can sit back for two years or four years and watch what's happening."

Looking past the electoral calculus that ushered in Trump, Murphy offered frustrated Democrats a few concrete ways to translate their anger into action. Focus on the local level. Make your voice heard. And remind Republicans of the promises they made, particularly regarding the GOP's pledge to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

"They told people they were going to replace the Affordable Care Act and replace it with something better," he said. "They were the dog that never thought they were going to actually catch the car but they caught the car and they're being held accountable for the things they said....my hope is they will come to the table with us."

Murphy's 2017 town hall stands in sharp contrast to his 2009 town hall, held in the parking lot of the Stop & Shop in Simsbury. On that sweltering summer day, he was confronted by several angry tea party activists aggitated about the impending health care overhaul. "This is better,'' he said as the crowded erupted in applause.

Many in the audience are new to political activism, joining groups affiliated with the Indivisible movement after attending the women's march on Washington last month.

Nicole Bornhorst, from Vernon, is part of Action Together Connecticut. She said Murphy "gives us hope."

Eleni DeGraw, from Avon, is a co-founder of Forward CT – a grassroots group that she and friend Carrie Firestone started as a Facebook group after Trump won the election. In 48 hours, DeGraw said the page had 600 members. Today, just over 1,600 are tuned in, she said.

She asked Murphy how grassroots groups, like hers, can be supportive and more effective. After Murphy's visit she said she felt energized.

Kate Hamilton Moser, an Air Force veteran, is part of Pant Suit Nation CT, another new group formed in the aftermath of the election.

Hamilton Moser said one of her goals is to make sure people aren't scared to call their state representatives or go to the Capitol.

Murphy pledged to give the new activists the tools to make a difference. "I'm going to try to outline in an organized way some tools that people can use, some recommendations on a weekly basis that I would make for advoicates on how you can best use your voices,'' he said.

Murphy said he draws energy from the crowd. "It just lifts me up to see the response that has happened over the last 30 days,'' he said. "What keeps me up at night is that people's anger and their passion will dissipate over time."