Newt Nostalgia

Kevin Drum links to a post describing how former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was reasonable compared to those who rebelled against him and forced him out (Tom DeLay, Dick Armey).

"The sad thing is that he's right. It's hard to believe, but the leadership of the modern Republican party is now so insane that liberal Democrats can legitimately look back and say that Newt wasn't really all that bad."

There's more. In today's WaPo, ol' Newt warns Republicans not to write off the narrow victory by Republican Jean Schmidt in Ohio so quickly:

"There is more energy today on the anti-Iraq, anti-gas-price, anti-changing-Social Security and I think anti-Washington [side]," he said. "I think the combination of those four are all redounding to weaken Republicans and help Democrats. . . . I don't think this is time to panic, but I think it's time to think. If we don't think now, then next September [2006], people will panic when it's too late."