Excerpted from “Rediscovering God in America”
presented by Newt Gingrich
at the Value Voters Summit, October 19, 2007
VALUES CONTEXT:
THE VALUES GAP BETWEEN MOST AMERICANS AND THE LEFT
It is hard for our elites to understand how distant they are from the average American in values. In the
university faculty lounges, the Hollywood cocktail parties, the leftwing activist groups, and the
newsrooms and editorial boards of most of the elite media there is such a unanimity of belief that it is
impossible for them to realize that they collectively form a left wing enclave in a hugely center right
nation.
At American Solutions we decided to listen carefully to the American people about their values and
their understanding of what would work and what they favored. In the summer of 2007 we analyzed
a series of six national surveys. The results are available at Americansolutions.com.
To understand the gap between the left and the American people consider the following:

86% believe there are certain values which unite all Americans.

80% believe it is very important for a group or organization to purse the goal of
strengthening and revitalizing America's core values.

85% believe it is very important for a group or organization in this country to pursue the goal of
helping defend America and her allies.

75% believe it is very important for a group or organization in this country to pursue the goal of
defeating America's enemies.

93% believe Al Qaeda poses a serious threat.

85% believe Iran poses a serious threat.

76% believe North Korea poses a threat.

79% would support the death penalty for someone caught and convicted of carrying out a
terrorist attack in the United States.

71% believe America's terrorist enemies would kill millions of Americans if they had the
chance.

83% support the establishment of clear laws making it a crime to advocate acts of terrorism or
violent conduct or the killing of innocent people in the United States.
© 2007 Gingrich Communications -- DRAFT - 10/19/07

77% support the closing down of terrorist websites at home and abroad using the techniques of
computer warfare.

83% agree that America should take the threat of fanatical religious groups more seriously.

95% agree that we have an obligation to be good stewards of God's creation for future
generations.

65% favor abolishing the death tax.

48% favor abolishing the capital gains tax (41 % oppose-I included this because no one on the left
could imagine that without any argument being made and any campaign being waged there are
already enough investors in the United States to have a plurality favoring abolishing the capital
gains tax).

70% favor a tax incentive for companies who headquarter in the United States.

61 % favor the option of a single income tax rate of 17%.

82% favor the convenience of filing their taxes with a single piece of paper.

74% favor the single 17% rate of 17% for corporations.

68% see a direct link to making American corporations more competitive in the United States so
they will not move jobs overseas.

54% believe the wealthiest should pay the same proportion of their income as everyone else
while only 43% believe they should pay more. This undermines one of the left's happiest battle
cries of 'tax the rich'.
The left is distant from the average American on national security and economics but the gap
becomes cataclysmic when the topic turns to culture and religion.
 89% believe religion and morality are important to them and their family.
 79% believe religion and morality are important to the country.

64% believe there is not enough religion in schools. Only 8% believe there is too much
religion in school.

72% believe there is not enough religion in movies and television.

87% approve of the reference to "The Creator" in the Declaration ofIndependence. 6%
strongly disapprove.
© 2007 Gingrich Communications -. DRAFT -10/19/07

88% approve of the reference of "One Nation under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. 7%
strongly disapprove.

78% approve of the Ten Commandments appearing in court houses across America. 12%
strongly disapprove.

81 % oppose removing crosses and other such monuments from public parks and other public
property. 8% strongly approve.

94 % approve of a moment of silence allowing children to pray to themselves if they want to in
public schools. 3% strongly disapprove.

90% approve of a Christmas tree or Menorah being placed on public property during the
holiday season. 5% strongly disapprove.

82% oppose banning all prayer in public schools. Only 9% approve.

79% oppose forbidding high school children from saying thanks to God in a graduation
speech. 14% strongly approve banning it.

83% oppose the left's model that the best way to protect religious freedom is to make sure no
religious expression is permitted in a public building.
This is not just a matter of cultural values. The average American absolutely believes that these
values make a difference in who we are as Americans and in our freedoms.

84% agree that references to God in the Pledge of Allegiance and the declaration of
Independence are important because they make clear that certain rights can't be taken away by
the government. Only 9% strongly disagree.

93% believe that it is still important to acknowledge that our rights come from our Creator
today. Only 3% disagree.

81 % reject efforts to eliminate all references to God in government-sanctioned activities or
public buildings. Only 9% strongly favor it.
When given a choice between two hypothetical candidates, one who believes that most of the
problems our country faces are because America is no longer as religious and moral as it once was -and a second candidate who believes that religion and morality has little to do with America's
problems and that our problems are a result of changes in the economy, war, public education and
other issues -- the American people choose the candidate of religion and morality by 65 to 30 over
the other candidate.
This choice is rooted in a deeper understanding of how relevant our Founding Fathers and their
values are to 21 st century America.
© 2007 Gingrich Communications -- DRAFT - 10/19/07
When asked to choose between a candidate who says the Founding Fathers understood that religion
and morality are important to creating and building this country and talked about it regularly and who
argues that this was understood throughout American history and it's central to America's success
today -- and a candidate who says that just because America has a 200 year history of religion in
government doesn't make it right and that just like many other things America did 200 years ago this
violates the US Constitution and discriminates against those who are of other faiths or not religious -the American people favor the candidate who favors American history by 79 to 17 over the other
candidate.
To reinforce this belief in American history consider the results of a choice between a candidate who
believes that statements regarding religion and morality made by the Founding Fathers were made a
long time ago and don't have much to do with America today -- and a candidate who believes that
statements regarding religion and morality made by the Founding Fathers are just as important today
as they were 200 years ago - the American people favor a candidate who respects the lessons of the
Founding Fathers by 86 to 12 over a candidate who ignores American history.
Given a choice between a candidate who believes the best way to protect religious freedom is to
protect ALL religious references and symbols, including those on public buildings, lands or
documents -- and a candidate who believes the best way to ensure religious freedom is to remove all
references to all religious references and symbols from public buildings, lands, and documents -Americans by 81 to 14 pick the candidate who would protect religious symbols and reference over the
candidate who would eliminate them.
As a matter of fact, I strongly agree with those who believe America's roots are to be found in the
endowment of our Creator.
I wrote Rediscovering God in America (also now available as a DVD walking tour of Washington)
to prove that our history from the Declaration of Independence ("we are endowed by our Creator
with certain unalienable rights") to the Constitution (signed in "the Year of our Lord") to the great
leaders of America proves that most Americans are right and the radically secular left is simply
wrong.
Yet if a massive majority (averaging between 80 and 90 per cent support on question after question
after question) support the facts of American history about the important role of religion and morality
in our public life, then why does this majority keep losing to a radically secular left which has a hard
core of 3 to 9 per cent?
The answer is to be found in the deliberate strategy of the left in using the law and the courts to
impose on America what they could never win in elections.
© 2007 Gingrich Communications -- DRAFT -10/19/07