There has been plenty of House-bashing as of late but let's not let the Senate look like a well-oiled machine by comparison. There are many reasons why our current Congress is viewed by the majority of American's as a bastion of inefficiency and dysfunction. Even the somewhat ugly skills that politicians are well known for, such as back-scratching and secret dealings, seem to be lost on this crew. Besides a few major compromises and the valiant effort of a few, namely the Gang of Eight, we are indeed in a sorry state of affairs.