Why do people say the US Congress is useless?

There are a couple of components to this answer. The first is the very-conservative members, sometimes called The Tea Party wing, is big enough to create a huge fissure in the Republicans who are in the majority. Their agenda, or how to achieve a Republican agenda, does not always conform to House leadership's. read more

There are a couple of components to this answer. The first is the very-conservative members, sometimes called The Tea Party wing, is big enough to create a huge fissure in the Republicans who are in the majority. read more

To answer with a different tack, a useless Congress is a *good* Congress. The more divisive and confrontational they are, the more likely that they are to pass fewer and better laws. The idea that a Congress should be measured by how many laws they pass is, to me, absurd, and is akin to measuring the quality of a doctor by how many patients he (or she) sees, without regard to the quality of outcome. read more