Gingrich: Tea party lost 'the passion they had in 2010'

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) said Sunday that the tea party movement would probably not be as influential in 2012 as it was in 2010.

Although he believes the tea party will still be important in a number of elections, he conceded to CNN's Candy Crowley that they "don't have the the passion they had in 2010."

"Partially, I think, out of frustration of having won the House and not seeing the scale of change they wanted," Gingrich continued. "This is a very complex form of government and it takes longer to get something done than people would like."

He also denied that the Republican Party was less diverse and inclusive than the Democratic Party.

"The Democratic Party has no room for a right to life speech at the National Convention," Gingrich explained. "Lack of diversity in the Democratic Party is ignored because they defined diversity one way."

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