State congressional districts are increasingly being drawn with purely partisan interests in mind. Individual counties are often split and multiple counties are strung together to favor one party or the other.
This creates highly partisan districts which are safe for incumbents. Because they have little chance of losing the next general election, these Representatives are less obligated to listen to the wishes of moderates. They actually have an incentive to vote at the extremes of the political spectrum to please their handpicked segment of the population.
This leads to gridlock in Washington. Extreme Republicans and Democrats have no incentives to compromise in the middle. They are more likely to win re-election if they DON'T compromise.
Put an end to customized districts.