This nontraditional Congress demanded big changes in the course of government, especially social policy. Its goals were neither votes nor laws nor feeling good. In assessing its work, it is better not to compare this Congress with its more traditional predecessors. Unique may be too strong an adjective, but surely this Congress is different. Better, more up to date, real-world comparisons might be with the Japanese Diet, the German Bundestag, or the Westminster Parliament, all of which have faced difficult modern problems with minimum successes.
Personal performance ought to be assessed a little differently too.
Often the Republicans looked like a clumsy majority, but the Democrats seemed an inept minority too. In fact, both toiled, sometimes in vain but always faithfully and enthusiastically for positions dearly held. If the entire cast of characters seemed excessively meanspirited, well, politics is not touch football. For 1995, present this Congress no medals for efficiency. No pragmatism citations for clever compromise are in order either.