Newt never backed down from his support from Scozzafava. He didn’t even back down after she dropped out. He tried to put a happy face on it, but that was all. I can’t give you a link without a very time consuming trip back through threads and searches, but the facts are well known.
As to the blame for the NRCC members who appointed her, I’ve seen that on FR as well. But Newt being such a big name in Republican circles, he caught the brunt of the criticism, and rightly so in my estimation. Newt has been held as the father of contemporary conservatism. That stems from his speakership and his involvement in the Contract With America. But as others have pointed out, his dipping into the GW Kool Aid, his dealings with Pelosi, his misguided support for such a flaming liberal as Scozzafava, he’s lost his aura and is no longer a favorite around here.
Do we even have a favorite around here? A conservative Republican leader? A staunch conservative that won’t sell out to the first bidder on the DemocRat side? I know I’ve been away for most of the week, but I’m not seeing any ONE we can count on.