Gerrymandering Didn’t Cause the Shutdown

Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- What if we told you that thegerrymandering of congressional districts has nothing to do withpolitical polarization in Washington? Gerrymandering didn’t haveanything to do with the shutdown, or the battles over the debtceiling, or Obamacare. In fact, the accepted view thatpolitically based redistricting led to our state ofintransigence isn’t just incorrect; it’s silly.

The real reason for our increasingly divided politicalsystem is much simpler: The right wing of the Republican Partyhas embraced a fundamentalist version of free-market capitalismand succeeded in winning elections. (The Democrats have moved tothe left, but less so.)