In my latest column for CJR, I urge reporters to go deeper in their coverage of the shutdown/debt ceiling fight and investigate the positions held by individual members of the House GOP and the political implications of those positions in their districts. Here’s how it begins:

Washington is in full blame-game mode as the federal government moves into shutdown this morning, including facile attributions of blame to national leaders.

The true culprit, however, is deepening legislative polarization, which has its roots in intra-party dynamics playing out in districts around the country. To help voters understand what is happening and why., reporters should go local, providing richer and more detailed coverage of the positions and district politics of the legislators who are pushing the House GOP toward confrontation.

For more, read the whole thing.