Newt Gingrich, the Destroyer of Good Governance

Today's performative shenanigans in Congress all stem from the good ol' boy's staged fight with Speaker Tip O'Neill in 1984.

As a child, I learned how Congress is supposed to function between the Schoolhouse Rock videos I watched on TV and the lessons I was taught in social studies classes. One of the most dispiriting developments in my adult life has been the disconnect between those things and how Congress actually functions; or rather, does not function. While I did not kn…