The Tea Party Goes International

Anna Leutheuser / October 14, 2010

Despite the media’s negative portrayal, support for the Tea Party is growing at astonishing speed.  Over half of the electorate now consider themselves favorable to the Tea Party, according to recent polls.  Just this weekend, the Virginia Tea Party Convention, co-hosted by The Heritage Foundation, attracted over 2,000 attendees – the largest state-wide rally to date.  Such broad support is remarkable for a movement that began not quite two years ago in scattered local gatherings of frustrated and concerned citizens.  Yet when considering the Tea Party’s grounding in the principles of limited government, individual freedom and the rule of law, it is unsurprising that their message resonates across the country – and as we’re beginning to see – around the world.

Australia is one such country experiencing a groundswell of support for a more fiscally conservative government.  The election of Tony Abbott in December as opposition leader against the Labor Party precipitated a “savage swing” toward conservatism.  Although Abbott’s Liberal Party [Australia’s traditionally conservative party] was unable to win an outright majority this August, they did gain enough power to deny the Labor Party a governing majority.  Throughout this period, Mr. Abbott has continued to explain–without ambiguities—his conservative stance on the economy, stimulus spending, faith, and cap-and-trade legislation, giving Australian politics a clarity and focus that many countries would desire. (more…)