Gingrich reacts to Greene's motion to oust Speaker Johnson: Gaetz 'unleashed the demons'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Hill

03/23/24 5:38 PM ET


Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said that Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) “unleashed the demons” when he spearheaded an effort last year to oust former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from his leadership post.

Gingrich was responding to a question from Fox host Laura Ingraham on why some House Republicans, like Reps. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.), have been leaving Congress before their terms ended.

Gingrich said that, in part, Gaetz’s effort last year that ended McCarthy’s tenure as speaker should not be downplayed and that since then, the lower chamber has been a “disaster.”

“Well I think, first of all, you’d have to have a totally different approach,” Gingrich said Friday on “The Ingraham Angle.” “We shouldn’t underestimate how bad what Matt Gaetz did was for the whole system. He unleashed the demons, he went after somebody who would raise $480 million, had gained seats for three elections in a row, and he drove Kevin McCarthy out of office. From that point on, it has been a disaster.”

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4551945-gingrich-reacts-to-greenes-motion-to-oust-speaker-johnson-gaetz-unleashed-the-demons/

---

[getagrip_already]

1. Newt is being too generous: its been a disaster for a lot longer than that

They haven't accomplished anything beyond a tax cut for the uber wealthy since well before tsf.

[elleng]

5. Yes, since

The Gingrich Senators: The Roots of Partisan Warfare in Congress

The Senate of the mid twentieth century, which was venerated by journalists, historians, and senators alike, is today but a distant memory. Electioneering on the Senate floor, playing games with the legislative process, and questioning your fellow senators' motives have become commonplace.

In this book, noted political scientist Sean Theriault documents the Senate's demise over the last 30 years by showing how one group of senators has been at the forefront of this transformation. He calls this group the "Gingrich Senators" and defines them as Republican senators who previously served in the House after 1978, the year of Newt Gingrich's first election to the House. He shows how the Gingrich Senators are more conservative, more likely to engage in tactics that obstruct the legislative process, and more likely to oppose Democratic presidents than even their fellow other Republicans. Phil Gramm, Rick Santorum, Jim DeMint, and Tom Coburn are just four examples of the group that has includes 40 total senators and 22 currently serving senators. >>>

https://www.amazon.com/Gingrich-Senators-Partisan-Warfare-Congress/dp/0199307466

[EarnestPutz]

16. Really interesting. I've thought that Newt was a root cause of a lot our current dysfunction and this sort of confirms

[elleng]

21. No doubt newt caused much of our current misery.

[SouthernDem4ever]

27. Exactly

The chaos started with him.

[Rebl2]

37. Absolutely

he started much of this.

[bedazzled]

42. The first demon

My first thought

[SergeStorms]

53. His "contract with America"....

became a contract on America and republicans have been dismantling our democracy ever since.

All of them paved the way for the worst person in the world to finish the job, and throw our country under the fascist bus.

Fuck off, Newt. 🤬

[Roy Rolling]

58. Optics

The significance of this was a contract was a business apparatus—so it was branded as “run government like a business bullsh*t.

It’s impossible to run government like a business for reasons too innumerable to mention here. But here was the first instance of that theory and the utter disaster it was. History clearly shows chaos has followed every GOP attempt to govern with this failed principle.

[JHB]

63. Maybe not the root, but the vehicle, the proof-of-concept

The success of the tag-team of Newt and Rush in the 90s became the standard operating procedure for the GOP.

[Arthur_Frain]

8. That would require self-awareness

Not newties forte.

[catrose]

2. Why does anyone, even Fox, think Newt is worth talking to?

[BumRushDaShow]

4. He created the current chaos in Congress

(and as we know, used to be SOH and was eventually run out)

[catrose]

6. Sure, but as you say,he was run out. No disgrace for Rs

[BumRushDaShow]

14. I usually stick this in Gingrich OPs

It was very elucidating -

The Man Who Broke Politics

Newt Gingrich turned partisan battles into bloodsport, wrecked Congress, and paved the way for Trump’s rise. Now he’s reveling in his achievements.

Story by McKay Coppins
November 2018 Issue

Updated on October 17, 2018

(snip)

On June 24, 1978, Gingrich stood to address a gathering of College Republicans at a Holiday Inn near the Atlanta airport. It was a natural audience for him. At 35, he was more youthful-looking than the average congressional candidate, with fashionably robust sideburns and a cool-professor charisma that had made him one of the more popular faculty members at West Georgia College. But Gingrich had not come to deliver an academic lecture to the young activists before him—he had come to foment revolution.

“One of the great problems we have in the Republican Party is that we don’t encourage you to be nasty,” he told the group. “We encourage you to be neat, obedient, and loyal, and faithful, and all those Boy Scout words, which would be great around the campfire but are lousy in politics.” For their party to succeed, Gingrich went on, the next generation of Republicans would have to learn to “raise hell,” to stop being so “nice,” to realize that politics was, above all, a cutthroat “war for power”—and to start acting like it.

The speech received little attention at the time. Gingrich was, after all, an obscure, untenured professor whose political experience consisted of two failed congressional bids. But when, a few months later, he was finally elected to the House of Representatives on his third try, he went to Washington a man obsessed with becoming the kind of leader he had described that day in Atlanta. The GOP was then at its lowest point in modern history. Scores of Republican lawmakers had been wiped out in the aftermath of Watergate, and those who’d survived seemed, to Gingrich, sadly resigned to a “permanent minority” mind-set. “It was like death,” he recalls of the mood in the caucus. “They were morally and psychologically shattered.”

But Gingrich had a plan. The way he saw it, Republicans would never be able to take back the House as long as they kept compromising with the Democrats out of some high-minded civic desire to keep congressional business humming along. His strategy was to blow up the bipartisan coalitions that were essential to legislating, and then seize on the resulting dysfunction to wage a populist crusade against the institution of Congress itself. “His idea,” says Norm Ornstein, a political scientist who knew Gingrich at the time, “was to build toward a national election where people were so disgusted by Washington and the way it was operating that they would throw the ins out and bring the outs in.”

(snip)

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/11/newt-gingrich-says-youre-welcome/570832/

[EarnestPutz]

17. Great post. thanks.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

20. Thank you. People need reminding of how slimy the Newt is.

Young folks might not realize it's a plan, not just abnormal individuals.

[ancianita]

41. Very true. Gen X were in their early 20's when his 'Contract ON America' took off,

nevermind today's Millennials and Gen Z.

[Unwind Your Mind]

64. I'm Gen X and I remember it well

But you’re right of course, we need to remember the history and remind the younger ones

[underpants]

34. CNN had his sidekick Frank Lutz on recently

He bemoaned political discord (no seriously) and planted the seed that foreclosing on Trump properties would get him elected.

[BumRushDaShow]

38. ...

[2naSalit]

19. Criminals...

Often return to the scene of the crime.

[elleng]

7. YES!

[Onthefly]

13. With "The Contract for America."

[Rebl2]

39. Or as some

called it “The Contract on America”. At least that’s what I called it.

[ificandream]

11. Fox thinks any Republican is worth talking to no matter what their history is. And Newt's is one of the worst.

[agingdem]

54. Newt is a GOP Neanderthal

desperate to stay relevant..that said, I think it's time for the DU powers that be to stop posting anything dinosaurs Newt/Karl Rove/John Bolton spew on Fox or any cable network...

[LittleGirl]

57. Thank you!

This is the DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND, not the republican agenda nightmare we’re living. Just look at the front page, nothing but trump, trump trump.

[elleng]

3. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said that Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) "unleashed the demons"

Gingrich!!!

[4lbs]

9. Just think about it. People like Richard Nixon and Newt Gringrich are now your 'Moral Compass'

Just how far off the rails have you gotten when THOSE turds are the voices of reason?

[DoBW]

10. And now it's all STJ ! Save Trump's Johnson!

[OAITW r.2.0]

28. OK, that was good....perhaps a photo of them together with that slogan would be perfect.

[DoBW]

32. STJ STJ ?!

Last edited Sun Mar 24, 2024, 05:48 AM - Edit history (1)

Save Trump's Johnson

[Red Mountain]

35. I guess Stormy was right

[OAITW r.2.0]

45. Perfect pic....makes me wonder where Trump's hand and arm are....

[Onthefly]

12. Newt wrote "The Contract for America" with the help of the Heritage Foundation

It is a major perspective that created the current chaos in congress.

[BumRushDaShow]

15. He had been working on "chaos" long before he did that "Contract"

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=3214795

[Arne]

18. When they had McCain and Palin running

the idiots here kept wishing they would run Newt.

I said if that happens you'll have a newt for president.

[Attilatheblond]

22. Demon Master says what?

[rubbersole]

23. Well, Newtie...

...does that mean the repubs should be taken to the dump? You know, for the children...

[Mr.Bill]

24. Newt's probably realizing

that under today's rules he probably wouldn't last long as Speaker either.

Nor will any republican they pick.

[surfered]

25. I just spit my wine out all over myself. .

…Newt was first to unleash the demons in the 90’s. Gaetz is just following in Newt’s footsteps.

[dchill]

26. Newt all acting like he can't understand...

... trying to undermine democracy. Do a fake faint, Newt. Fan yourself a little. These are your kids!

[JustAnotherGen]

29. Takes a demon

To know a demon.

[Hekate]

30. Award Newt the Captain Obvious Medal, because he laid the groundwork for this shitshow.

[OAITW r.2.0]

31. You can take full credit for the Party changes, Newt.

MTG is your progeny.

[FakeNoose]

33. He's not wrong, but we didn't need to hear it from Newtie

We were saying this all along. Oh well!

None of us feel bad for Kevin either, so there's that.

[DownriverDem]

36. Newt's Partly to blame

He gave the no compromise order when he was speaker. He told the then repubs not to stay in DC on weekends & interact with the Dems. This mandate has been in place since the 90's. It is full tilt now. repubs don't legislate.

[Carlitos Brigante]

40. No, you did that a long ass time ago. You flaccid waste of worm DNA. nt

[relayerbob]

43. Gaetz *IS* the demon.

Gingrich's part is that he set the stage for demons to take over the GOP. He should STFU.

[dchill]

52. Has anyone actually tried...

... holding up a bunch of garlic? Or a crucifix?

[Blue Owl]

44. Gaetz has demons, alright....

Demons that need to be exposed and not kept hidden away from public view....

[kairos12]

46. New Gangrene

Original arsonist of the House.

Vile, cheating trash.

[Upthevibe]

47. BumRushDaShow..........

Thanks for this post.

Newt Gingrich is one of the key operators that got us where we are. The catastrophic result of his machinations simply can't be overstated. IMHO, he emits evil energy (Yes. I believe there are evil humans among us).

[AverageOldGuy]

48. No, Newtie, don't try to deflect the blame to Gaetz

It was one Newt Gingrich who set in motion the dysfunction we have today. It's all on you, asshole.

[orleans]

49. posters in this thread, in spite of some of the negative images they paint,

seem generally far more... decent in their replies than i intend to be.

my reply is simply this:

fuck him. and fuck them all! they can all go to hell

[cstanleytech]

50. Disaster? Nahhh. Karma? Hell ya baby!!!!

[Backseat Driver]

51. At least the eye of Newt knows enough to try to pick those self-same reptilian-brained demon scales off his nose

when he looks in the mirror! -- Hah, maybe his potion steeped too long!

[no_hypocrisy]

55. He learned from you, Newt . . . . .

[Layzeebeaver]

56. Newt taking about Gaetz on Fox... WTF?

That about says it all.

[Skittles]

59. no, Newt, YOU unleashed the demons

started with that CONTRACT ON AMERICA and has been on a roll ever since - GO FUCK YOURSELF

[tanyev]

60. Newtie's mad he didn't get invited to the cocaine parties.

[Martin68]

61. Hard to believe Gingrich, the original "Demon Releaser," is talking like this. The GOP has fucked itself.

Unfortunately, that affects the entire country. The Representative Branch has become dysfunctional, thanks to MAGA. Will Republicans ever grow a spine and start governing?

[JHB]

62. You know who "unleashed the demons" Newton? YOU!

You set them on this path, they're all following the example you set.

You built that.

"My name is Newtimandious. Behold, ye mighty, and despair."

[cstanleytech]

66. No, he didn't do it but he sure as hell helped it.

[JHB]

74. Yeah. he did. They were there before, but he was the one who gave the invocation and made them manifest

Made it a part of their standard operating procedure.

Never diminish his role in making the GOP into the shit pile it has become.

[cstanleytech]

76. I'm not trying to dimish it but the reality is that he himself was a mouthpiece for others.

A large mouthpiece granted but still a mouthpiece.

[cstanleytech]

65. Fuck off Newt!!! You helped unleash this beast back when Clinton was President so don't fucking complain now.

[flying_wahini]

67. I'm throwing out a link that says a lot about Gingrich from long ago when Bill Clinton's was in office that

brought a lot of memories back for me.
Gingrich is an ass.

[link:https://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/time/1998/11/09/gingrich.html|

[wolfie001]

68. It's like the Devil's giving advise on how to be a better person

No thanks Newt!!! who served his former wife divorce papers while she was in the hospital fighting cancer. Well, that's a mouthful.

[VanceFan]

69. Idiot

Gingrich thinks the answer to Republican failure and dysfunction is to elect more Republicans. What an idiot!

[D23MIURG23]

70. He furthered the hyperpartisanship that lead to this. Not surprised he doesn't recognize his part in it. n/t

[lonely bird]

71. Put it this way...

Newt hasn’t gotten a quarter of the kicking around he deserved. He was, is and always will be a piece of crap. He was a major part of the Republican attack on democracy. That anyone anywhere considers any opinion out of his piehole as being worthy of broadcast is astounding.

[Dave Bowman]

72. Slimy Newt can go to hell.

[republianmushroom]

73. Republicans are reaping what they has sown and Newt helped cast those seeds.

Craw back under your rock, newt.

[truthisfreedom]

75. Just simplify if for them, newt. "If it's not in a skirt

and fresh out of high school, Gaetz has no idea what to do with it.” That is the crux of the problem. Gaetz isn’t congressional material. If he’s not robbing the cradle he’s incapable of doing anything.