Probably nothing. This was Newts "move to the center" for his eventual entry into the presidential race. He made a really bad call and now is unable to back off. In about a month, he will issue an essay intended to mollify conservative about his stance. The essay will receive a lukewarm response from conservatives. At least that's the way he did it when he sat on the couch with Nancy and when he praised Obama.
That's when I lost about 90% of the respect I had for him. Backing Scozzafava did in the last 10%.