What's up with all these countries voting in teabagger types?

[CK_John]

Latest are the Aussies, the Swedes, Norway and New Zealand. Is the world going back to 1933?

Let's hope NYC will elect a progressive or 2 next week and break this trend.

[Warpy]

1. Aussies wanted no part of Rudd

because of the infighting in the Labour Party. Once all the combatants are out of office and in retirement, they'll kick the conservatives out.

Norway and Sweden are feeling pressure from anti immigration people and the conservatives there are feeding on that. If those conservatives do anything beyond restricting immigration, especially from the Middle East, they'll be gone in record time.

I think NYC might be sick of Bloomberg and by extension, the Republicans. Bloomie has been doing too much overreaching and while the lily white native born Americans there might support the appalling stop and frisk harassment of brown kids, he's absolutely outraged by the attacks against Big Gulps.

[jmowreader]

2. Tony Abbott seems to be the Australians' answer to Ronald Reagan

Australia is going through a cyclical recession caused by declining demand for their mineral exports, and there are some taxes instituted by the last government (the carbon-emissions tax is the prime example) that are really pissing people off. Abbott also created an unfounded scenario of an Australia currently on the brink of collapse. Since Australia isn't really on the brink of collapse, Abbott seems to be saying "who are you going to believe, mate, me or your own lying eyes?"

Unfortunately for Australia, there's a time-honored way to correct a cyclical recession: do nothing because the economy is like the tides if left the hell alone - it always comes back. Abbott's not going to do this; rather, he is going to try to take Australia down the path on which a tax cut is the only acceptable answer to anything. Not enough money in the treasury? Cut taxes. Too much? Cut taxes. The Minister for Queensland ran out of milk? Cut taxes.

Fortunately, Australia has the Motion of No Confidence.

[KT2000]

3. they are the answer to some

for frustration. The emotions TPs spew - anger, resentment, fear, bigotry, etc. hit the spot for many. They probably do not think through what they want to do.