The Shift from the Green Shift

Dear Diane,
Reading the political news over on the blog of my good friend the Hack at http://www.hacksandwonks.blogspot.com/, I was made aware of the about face Stephane Dion has made on his green shift plan. *Slow Clap*
I'll be honest with you, I believe that we should be doing as much as we can to be helping our environment and I believe that carbon taxes are probably the way we'll be moving in the future, but even I understood how stupid and useless it was to make the central plank of your campaign a tax on Industry in a climate of economic uncertainty. One of the cornerstones of business is that the producer almost never takes the hit when things get tough; the cost is passed on to the consumer. On top of that, the province of BC, probably the most progressive in Canada, is currently grumbling over the cost increases that are coming out of their Carbon Tax. Why, oh why, would anyone believe that this is a good idea at a time like this, is beyond me.
But having said that, why would you change your tune in the middle of an election? Right or wrong, the Liberals were providing a choice from the Conservative platform that has been run pretty safe and middle of the road thus far. The Green Shift was a bad idea in June, July and August and Dion felt that he could still fight an election on this issue, mainly because it is the only place where he has any credibility, which I still don't understand since he is the former environment minister and had his opportunity to make a difference on that front; But that is of no consequence to me.
When all is said and done in this election, I believe this backpeddle will be a big deal for alot of people in our country, Liberals or not. The party stuck their neck out on this issue and since then things have been going down the drain. To back down at this point shows just how disasterous the decision to place electoral hopes on an untested environmental policy has been. There is no question that the environment is important to Canadians, but the economic fears that go along with such an overarching initiative are too much to overcome in a general election for an opposition party.
Good policy? Possible. Good Politics? Not in the least