Speaking as a former constituent of his, I believe part of the problem with the GOP started with Newt Gingrich.
Newt was certainly not given a fair shake by the MSM when he became speaker. However, he did not leave because of them. He was not a good spokesman or leader. He was and probably still is a visionary. He can serve best in a think tank coming up with good ideas, not getting on TV and bashing our Republican president.
Every person supposedly on the Republican side who has publicly snisped at President Bush owns part of this election loss. I doubt if many of them meant their harsh words to end up with a sweep of both houses, but their negativity added up.