I think Gingrich would have stayed, but the problem is that the GOP bailed on him because they really didn’t want somebody like him (he was “too confrontational”). I remember listening to Rush when all this was going down.
It was truly bizarre. Gingrich really had no choice but to quit as Speaker, since the GOP had basically announced that it would not support him (and you can’t stay if your party won’t support you).
Note that nothing was ever found against him. But GOP Central wanted him out of the Speakership and they voted in Gephardt, who was exactly the RINO of their dreams. They lost the next round and the Speakership went to Dodd, who was probably also the candidate of GOP dreams...since they obviously all wanted to be Democrats.
livius, hate to pile on Newt but you are being way generous to him in your assessment of why he quit.
He did pull off a miracle in mobilizing the country with his brilliant ideas and soaring rhetoric and got us the House for the first time since ... what? Lincoln?
And a lot was accomplished during the first months of his term as Speaker.
But his fellow reps quickly became disillusioned with Newt, not for anything about his private life- they couldn’t care less, but because he just wasn’t a good leader.
Maybe you aren’t a big fan of Tom Delay, but I am and he tried to get Newt ousted as speaker... a meeting was held but Dick Armey demanded to be speaker and they didn’t want him (I don’t care at all for Armey). So he went off in a snit and told Newt about the attempted coup and it was defeated.
As Delay wrote in his book, “The speaker was disorganized. He knew nothing about running meetings and nothing about driving an agenda.”
Peter King called him hyperbolic.
Denny Hastert accused him of changing policy in a 24 hour period.
Tim Coburn said, “Before the goernment shutdown we thought Newt gingrich was invicible. After the shutdown, however, he was like a whipped dog who still barked, yet cowered in Clinton’s presence.
I say this not to thwart Newt’s chances. He may be the most viable candidate we have if Perry doesn’t get a big bump (still hoping), but people need to pray that if we nominate Newt he has matured enough to be the leader we need and not just a bombastic speaker who is not steady and won’t lead.