Winning the Future for October 23, 2006

Winning the Future for October 23, 2006

Your Vote (Still) Counts

by Newt Gingrich

October 23, 2006
Vol. 1, No. 27

Your Vote (Still) Counts

I began thinking about this week's "Winning the Future" with the belief that I would take a break from talking about the elections coming up in just 15 days. But a week of traveling across the country, speaking to Americans and listening to their thoughts about where our nation is headed has convinced me to share one more thought with you. That thought is this:

Your vote (still) counts.

I know you wouldn't think so if you've been listening to the elite media. They've been telling us for weeks now that the election is over and one side has already won.

It's like I Said: It Ain't Over Until It's Over

And they've been telling us one more thing that is unsupported by the evidence: Conservatives are less likely to turn out and vote this year. But this is not what I see when I meet with Americans across the country. And it's not what the polls are showing. In fact, when the Gallup Poll recently asked conservatives how motivated they feel about getting out and voting this year, a full 70 percent said they were extremely or very motivated about the elections.

I know you understand the importance of turning out to vote on November 7 for a safer, stronger and more prosperous America. But I want to make sure that your neighbors, your co-workers and the people at your place of worship know it too. Our vote counts. Let's not let the elite media fool us into thinking otherwise.

Arizona Voters 1, Judicial Supremacy 0

Speaking of voting, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of democracy this week by deciding that Arizona may go ahead and implement a law that was passed overwhelmingly by the voters, requiring a photo ID to cast a ballot.

Arizona's voter identification law was passed two years ago by the citizens of a state concerned about illegal immigration and the potential impact of illegal voters on their elections. This is an issue we've talked about in "Winning the Future" before: For our democracy to be legitimate, it has to reflect the views of legal and legitimate voters.

Of course, soon after it was passed, the Arizona photo ID law was challenged by the usual coalition of left-liberal groups. They eventually convinced some federal judges to suspend the law while their lawsuit goes forward, reversing the expressed will of the people. In its ruling, the Supreme Court lifted that suspension. It's not total victory -- the court didn't rule on the constitutionality of the law. But it is a useful reminder to voters: There are federal judges out there who are willing and eager to cancel out our democratic decisions with a stroke of their pen. Thankfully, in this case, the Supreme Court got it right.

The Battle of Iwo Jima Remembered

Clint Eastwood's new movie Flags of Our Fathers was released last week.

It is a very powerful film.

It tells the story of the second raising of the American flag atop the Japanese island of Iwo Jima during World War II and of the iconic photo that captured that moment.


Three of the six flag raisers in the famous photo by Joe Rosenthal survived the battle and returned to the United States at the request of President Roosevelt to lead the 7th Bond Drive to raise money for the war effort. The movie revolves around the story of these three -- two marines and one Navy corpsman.

The vivid scenes of battle depicted in this film are unforgettable. The film conveys how in war we ask ordinary people to do extraordinary things and that the heroes we honor are those who lost their lives in battle -- 6,821 Americans were killed in action on Iwo Jima, 5,931 of them Marines. The film also simply and elegantly conveys the reason for such great sacrifice -- to save American lives.

Your friend,

Newt Gingrich


P.S. - Something remarkable happened this weekend: The American people began to rediscover the centrality of God in the history and heritage of our nation.

On Friday, I released my new book, Rediscovering God in America. It's a walking tour of Washington, D.C.'s, monuments and historic buildings that pays special attention to the many references to faith and our Creator that were made by our nation's founders and most important leaders.

It's a book that I'm very proud of, but one that I had expected would have a quieter impact. Boy, was I wrong. From debuting on Amazon.com at No. 4,184 at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, Rediscovering God in America shot up to No. 30 by 11:00 p.m. that same night. By Saturday morning, Sean Hannity sent me an e-mail to let me know that it had reached No. 4 on Amazon.com. That might have had something to do with the fact that I had been on Sean's wildly popular radio show the day before to talk about Rediscovering God in America. Sean had read my book, and I was touched and gratified when he said, "The book increased my faith, and it reminded me of just how special our foundation has been." What a weekend for "Winning the Future."