
Speaker of a House divided.
Photographer: Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
, Columnists
A New Way to Understand America’s Congressional Doom Loop
A simple 2x2 matrix can explain why the House of Representatives has found it harder and harder to get anything done.
The House of Representatives is divided closely, bitterly and precariously.
The reason is a fundamental shift in the nature of the districts each party represents in the chamber. Over the past generation, both parties have established a dominant grip on a wide arc of seats linked by common racial, educational and economic features.