Yet this logic misses the secret of Gingrich’s current appeal. The former speaker is less a traditional conservative than he is a kind of right-wing futurist, most at home rhapsodizing about computer revolutions and brain science breakthroughs. But whereas most right-wing futurists tend to be libertarians who take a somewhat jaundiced view of partisan politics, for Gingrich civilization itself hangs in the balance in every election cycle. The glittering future he descries can only be won through a confrontation with the enemies of progress – namely, liberal Democrats.