Those of you who have read this blog over the past two decades know how I feel about Newt Gingrich. I hold him just as responsible and Donald Trump and Roger Ailes for the dark turn the GOP took since the early 90s. (And yes, their over racism was always reprehensible.) His influence over this country’s politics cannot be overstated and it’s all bad. Al Hunt, who’s also been following this story for decades has written a piece about Newt and I hope people read it. It’s important to always remember that Donald Trump didn’t start this descent into fascism. Gingrich was an officer in the Reagan Revolution and he took it to its logical conclusion. He is now being feted as an elder statesman by the MAGA movement, which makes perfect sense: Newt Gingrich is having another rebirth: reported whisperer to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), quoted hundreds of times as the supposed wise man to all things Congress and Washington, an off-Broadway version of Jim Baker or Leon Panetta. Some reporters are too young to remember that Gingrich, a very effective guerrilla warrior, was a failed Speaker a quarter century ago. Facile, glib, demagogic, he always has an observation, usually more inflammatory than insightful. A review of Gingrichisms over the years is instructive. These do not include typical political sniping, such as Republicans calling the Democrats socialists or Democrats accusing their opponents of trying to push Grandma off the cliff. No, these are Gingrich originals. Here’s a sampling. Gingrich charged that the Jan. 6 select committee that investigated…