Congress Isn’t Perfect but the Politicians Aren’t Always to Blame

The following commentary by Nathan L. Gonzales was posted on the Roll Call website August 8, 2018:

Fixing the Hill is easier said than done

U.S. Capitol Building. Credit: Sarah Silbiger, CQ Roll Call file photo

After 30 years of covering Congress, David Hawkings has a good idea of how Capitol Hill works — or more important, how it doesn’t — and he laid out five key reasons why Congress is broken.

But whether it’s money, maps, media, mingling or masochism, there are no easy solutions. Nor are they entirely the responsibility of the politicians to address.

Map mess

The redistricting process, including how congressional districts are drawn and the lack of competitive seats, gets a lot of blame for the dysfunction in Congress.

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