Gingrich slashed the House’s budgets for staff and other resources, a little-noticed change that gutted lawmakers’ ability to do their own analysis of important issues and put more bill-drafting power in the hands of outside actors such as think tanks and lobbyists. He shortened the House’s legislative schedule to just three working days a week so that members could spend more time campaigning and fund-raising—a change that reduced what the body could accomplish while giving members less time to form collaborative, bipartisan friendships. Further undermining collegiality, he urged Republican
...more
Discourse and dysfunction was invented by Gingrich and perfected by the right wing Republicans and we've paid the terrible price ever since.