It's not just the number of people on each side of the aisle.
When Ronnie won, the whole debate changed. He convinced the political establishment that cutting taxes, greatly expanding the military, "getting government out of the way", etc., etc. was the way to go. That mindset continued under Clinton, with only slight modification.
It was only when W made a mess of Iraq, of New Orleans, of the budget, etc., and when the economy imploded and all that his party-mates could offer was more of the same, only then did enough of the conventional wisdom change for the foundation for a future not built on Reaganomics to get a toe-hold.
Compare major legislation in the 95th Congress (1977-1978) - http://en.wikipedia....Major_legislation - with that from the 109th (2005-2006)- http://en.wikipedia....Major_legislation - to see how much has changed. E.g. Clean Water Act versus Terri Schiavo....
The ship of state turns slowly. But it's turning.
Cheers,
Scott.