I agree with maconservative on his point. With Clinton we got welfare reform and less spending than we currently have.
The opposition has more power than most realize. Sure they can't "get" their way all the time, but they can stop the party in power from doing just about anything. With that tool they can get parts of their agenda passed with minimal compromising (if they play their part right). If they overplay their hand then they're hosed.
BTW: The democrats got their education bill passed. But one may not realize it because after getting it they immediately said it wasn't enough. I'm still waiting for us to get our reduced gov't.