Conservatives Win Big This Week!

Australia, Norway, and Colorado.



Two countries and one state, what could these three locales have in common?



Conservatives won upset victories in these regions in the past week, although predictably very few local and national media outlets reported on these victories, just as the California mainstream media ignored Republican cherry farmer Andy Vidak's upset in a two-to-one Democratic state senate district in the Central Valley.



(For more information on the Vidak Victory, please visit here.)



Let's start with Australia. The Australian Liberal Party (the Australian conservatives, or center-right caucus, uses the word "liberal" correctly) won the majority vote this week after Aussie voters grew disenchanted with a Labour Party racked with infighting and poor leadership. The Consservative leader, Tony Abbott, will form a government



The three issues that propelled the Australian conservatives back to power:



1. End a tax on carbon emissions. Australians hated this tax, and so should Californians, who currently contend with this awful levy, one enacted by Arnold Schwarz-a-housekeeper and a Democratic majority legislature in 2006. This tax, also known as "Cap and Trade", was a terrible idea which Congressman Henry Waxman (D-South Bay) attempted to force on the entire country. He did not know the details of his own bill, it was so prolix and loaded with immoral perks, but thankfully it died in the Democratically controlled US Senate.



2. Economic recovery. Just like the United States, Australia is struggling with a struggling economy, and six years of liberal, big government, statist policies were not working. Conservatives bring in better ideas and implement them. Lower taxes, less government, greater efficiency through local control make the difference for any business surviving, and any country thriving. President Obama and his liberal Democratic caucus have increased government, diminished the individual and local city leaders, all while decreasing economic prowess in this country.



3. Government stability. The Labour Party infighting led to three shifts in leadership during their hold on Canberra politics. Australians had enough. President Obama has pivoted on his poor leadership to the economy twenty times, and still the economy suffers. His foreign policy gaffes over Syria and his cool relationship with the Russians have created a veneer of weakness and fecklessness for President Obama. Add to that his unilateral rewriting of Obamacare, and President Obama has become one of the most unstable and unreliable leaders in modern American Presidential history.



Now to Norway.



Center-right Conservative leader Erna Solberg led her party to their first victory in eight years, standing on a platform of public-private transformation for state utilities, more access to private health care, and lower taxes.



Lower taxes, more privatization, and a move away from big government: such traits have dubbed Mrs. Solberg "Iron Erna" after Conservative PM Margaret Thatcher, whose unwavering advocacy for classical liberal policies (lower taxes, limited government, local control) brought Britain out of decades of economic stagnation, hyperinflation, and general cultural malaise.



In a change of pace from the paper's normally one-sided approach to reporting, the LA Times featured the opinion of Norwegian voters on Solberg’s victory, who affirmed their appreciation for less government, lower taxes, and more private solutions to public problems.



Conservatives in California and throughout the country should pay close attention. Their values win every time and can win back this state and the country.



Now onto Colorado, a colorful swing state swinging away from two blue election cycles back to purple.



Before focusing on the successful recall of liberal state senators by a local conservative initiative, conservatives should acknowledge that there have already been rumblings in the several states against President Obama's liberal, big government agenda. President Obama has taken timid steps toward nationalizing healthcare, even though Canada is moving away from its single-payer system. States have rejected Obamacare's Medicare exchanges. Lawsuits are still challenging a law which the majority of Americans detest, as even Democratic lawmakers convinced that the “train wreck” legislation will not work. Furthermore, President Obama's attacks on the Second Amendment have largely failed, so much so that his executive orders have raised suspicion of his authority.

More specifically, gun control advocates State Senate President John Morse and Senator Angela Giron, legislators in Colorado, have been recalled. Despite a six-to-one fundraising advantage for the two embattled Democrats, a massive grass-roots uprising uprooted them, and Republicans are now just one vote away from taking back the Colorado State Senate. This recall effort is particularly significant for conservatives because the power of voter frustration and grass-roots organization trumped the millions of dollars spent by outside interest groups to sway Colorado voters. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is learning the hard way, by wasting his own cash and New Yorkers’ time and attention, that spending his way to policy victories will no longer work. Republicans in blue states should relish and learn from these elections. Union presence and Democratic dominance with dollars will not guarantee further liberal victories.



As for the Conservative wins in Australia and Norway, Republicans can learn the following: target young voters, use expansive social media, stay on a pro-people, pro-business message, and theyh can snatch victory from the weakening jaws of liberal defeat.