How have Liberals managed to convince their constinuents that Republicans hold all the blame for our problems?

Congress is by far the most powerful of the three branches? You are naive. Rove and Rumsfeld, along with Cheney, proved to be the most powerful "branch" in U.S. history. Lobbyists are a powerful "branch" as are corporations, Wall Street and banks armed with special interest money. These branches need to be pruned.