The latest game of political chicken that drove Washington to a government shutdown and the very edge of the debt ceiling gave new life to the omnipresent complaint of elder statesmen and centrist wise guys: If only congressional districts weren't so gerrymandered in the decennial redistricting process, moderation and across-the-aisle deal-making wouldn't be so rare.
But there's another solution to the partisan extremism that seems to dominate Congress today, one that's already in practice in two states: a top-two primary system, one that incentivizes candidates in even the most conservative or liberal districts to appeal to the vast middle that otherwise plays a limited role in picking members of Congress.
In California and Washington state, that system is already in effect. And in both states, the hard right and the hard left have seen their influence wane.