Ex-Rep. Tauzin: Polarized Districts Aided Tea Party-GOP Split

Partisan redrawing of electoral lines means lawmakers today come from such politically pure, one-party congressional districts, it's difficult for them to cooperate in Washington, a former U.S. representative told Newsmax TV on Friday.

Internal feuding between tea party and establishment Republicans is one consequence of that polarization, former Rep. Billy Tauzin of Louisiana told "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner.

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Gerrymandering has produced "super-minority districts and super-majority districts all over the country," and left the country with "very few diverse districts," Tauzin said.

He argued for drawing more politically diverse congressional districts — like the one he represented as both a Democrat and a Republican for nearly 24 years.

At the same time, Tauzin said that tea partiers and the GOP have more in common than not. Movements like the tea party's are "not always bad," he said, "as long as you remember you all stand for the same primary goals: limited government and more freedom."

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