There is a very widely shared myth about “Washington.” Accordingly, there are two camps, the right-wing GOP and the left-leaning Democrats, who are more or less matched. Each control one house of Congress, and command about half of the electorate. Hence, the gridlock.
Actually, much of American politics over the last four years or longer should be understood as a contest between the conservative “party” (most of the GOP and good part of the Democrats) and a liberal minority party. . . .
Gridlock exists when one party pulls east and the other party pulls west and, hence, nothing budges. This is not the case in Washington. Here, most times, one party wants to move east and the other wants to stay put. Thus, what appears as gridlock is actually one conservative blocking victory after another. The fact that the last Congress passed only half as many bills as most previous ones does not trouble the conservatives one bit.
Always Question Authority 
Finally, someone has nailed it. Conservatives in the Senate, although in the minority, have their way with us through the filibuster. In the House, where they have redistricted themselves into a permanent majority, they obstruct everything from common appointments to nominal efforts to legislate. Out-of-power (technically at least) or in-power, they constantly have their way with us. They have mastered this form of war-by-other-means. We can only hope it turns out to be a rear-guard action and that demographics and changes in cultural values will eventually sweep them and their tactics aside.