after Gingrich was forced out?

He was there just long enough to have his own extra-marital dalliances blow up in his face like a novelty cigar.

And one known traitor now.

all this rancor, all the extremism.

He recruited and "trained" a bunch of Republicans to run for office and came up with the Contract With American scam (it was a scam -- all they ever intended to do was VOTE on those things, not necessarily pass them).

And we've never been the same since.

He trained is mentees to use language like this:

Language: A Key Mechanism of Control, Newt Gingrich's 1996 GOPAC memo
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4443.htm