A very perceptive -- and meaningful -- observation.
As was your comment about "purges" -- these things take time. This was clearly a case of the 1994 "Republican Revolution" running out of steam -- spent because, given a lack of leadership, the Republicans forgot what it was that brung them.
It will (and should) take time for the party to examine itself and regain conviction as to its principles and direction. And, once it has rediscovered its core principles, a leader like Newt needs to emerge.
I don't believe this can be done in two years. I just hope it doesn't take forty-two...
And I hope that, in the interim, the GOP is strong enough on defense that the Democrats don't get to play out their nihilist fantasy.
Yeah, it does look bleak for the next 10 years.