If you get a chance to Google Lee Atwater,  Wikipedia has a good, basic summary ...and where Atwater intersects with Gingrich, the Willie Horton political ads, etc.,  but there are some other more extensive bios to fill in some blanks.   Atwater died at age 40 from brain cancer,  but like Trump today, he left a trail of destruction on the political landscape via his scorched earth strategies.  First the Tea Party and then the Trump alt-Right folks are the ultimate consequences of Atwater's far-reaching style in full bloom.