The Newt may be heeding the call of the Moose*.
Newt Gingrich could be applying for membership in the Vast Left Wing Conspiracy (VLWC)against the Bug Man. As has been widely reported, Gingrich gave an interview to CBS where he was far from supportive of his former leadership comrade DeLay.
That is no surprise. There is bad blood between Newt and DeLay going back to the late '80's when DeLay opposed Gingrich's candidacy for Republican Whip. After they gained power, DeLay defeated Newt's candidate for Whip. And the Bug Man was a key player in the aborted coup against Newt back in '97.
DeLay, moreover, has never been been a reformer. He was an opponent of term limits. Although he prides himself on his right wing credentials, he has an appropriators mentality. While he may loathe "big government', he loves lavish pork barrel spending.
And, as hard as it may be for lefties to believe, DeLay thought Newt was a closet "Rockefeller Republican." When the Moose* was an elephant in the '90s, he would often hear DeLay staffers bad mouthing Gingrich. In short, there is no love lost between the two men.
That is why the Moose* suggested a few months ago that Newt could be DeLay's undoing. While Newt has a personal animus towards DeLay, he has to be appalled that the reform revolution he initiated is being betrayed by the DeLayicans.
DeLay will not likely leave anytime soon. He is as tenacious as those Texas Fire Ants that were his nemesis in his previous occupation. And unlike Lott, the Bug Man enjoys strong ties with the "moral" right.
What is most striking, however, is that more conservatives are not taking Newt's lead. Outside of Andy Ferguson in the Weekly Standard and David Brooks at the Times, most conservatives are putting their credibility on the line in standing with DeLay. He is their Nixon and their movement will long be tarred by the association.
And the Moose* is loving it.
* Official Soros Disclaimer - The Moose is not now, nor has ever been in the employ of George Soros unless he was secretly funding the Heritage Foundation to ensure that his heirs pay no taxes. -- | 
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