[jfengel]

In the US, the law is heavily tilted towards inaction, by design. To pass legislation you need 50%+1 of the House and 60% of the Senate and the Presidency, and after being passed it can still be challenged judicially. Any one of those can block legislation. It's actually quite rare for a party to "hold power" -- and even when it does, it would take a unanimous desire with in the party to wield it.

A notion can have very widespread support and still not pass, or get much serious work done. (It's common for the party in power to bottle something up in a committee without giving it a full hearing.) So lack of action isn't evidence one way or the other. It just means it's nearly impossible to do anything via legislation.