Drew Adamick, the candidate in Prince George, wrote the following on his blog:
I've read the Liberal "Green Shift". It's about time the Liberals came out with some kind of policy. Too bad it's flawed in many respects: it does not truly reflect the current realities of rural and northern Canadians, it does not penalize heavy polluters enough, it does not truly provide incentives for people to take transit, drive less, use fuel-efficient vehicles, it does not provide enough incentives for people to use less fuel. I'm not against carbon taxes per se, just the two proposals that were put out there.
And what does he think of Stephane Dion:
Which basically goes to my next point, my increasing displeasure with the Liberal Party of Canada as of late. Their failure to adequately stand up to Harper in the House and the abstaining on key confidence votes (although if they really wanted to outsmart Harper on those, Dion would have made all those votes "free votes" with Liberal MPs voting the way their constituents want them too, wouldn't that be a novelty!). Their lack of policy that looks beyond the City of Toronto and idealist in Vancouver and Montreal is another one. Dion's leadership too is disappointing. I've tremendous respect for Stephane Dion the acedemic and the cabinet minister, just little for Stephane Dion the "leader." I know in a previous post of mine, I gave Dion my support as a then-proud Liberal.
Now, Ryan Warawa's blogposts on Keith Martin and Peter MacKay were held up to the light for things he said many moons ago.
Will this Liberal candidate's blogpost be held up to the light, for criticism of his leader he made a few months ago?
That remains to be seen. Let's see if the media coverage on this will be balanced.
And another thought: this could have the makings of an election ad. Is anyone in the Conservative war room reading this???
And oh yeah-- he adds:
I am not longer a proud Liberal, at least not with the party as it currently stands.
Yeow.
We have Robert Jago to thank for this discovery.
H/T: The Shotgun
Update...
In the comments, Drew Adamick defends his criticism of Stephane Dion and the party, even though he's a member of Liblogs. He says:
If Cherniak does not like it, tough. Sometimes one needs to drop the bomb and be the proverbial gadfly to make people step back and think twice. I'd rather sound the alarm now and voice my concerns rather than being potentially dragged down to the bottom. Debate is healthy, so as long as it is not personal.
July 4, 2008 5:05 PM
Drew Adamick said...
Besides, its not like I'm one of the most visible bloggers anyhow.
I get the feeling you're giong to be a lot more visible now, Drew :)))
Update on the Update:
He writes on September 19th, once the election had begun:
My reaction to the Green Shift was a knee-jerk one. Combined with the recent introduction of the provincial carbon tax and how it may affect Northern BC, I felt at the time that it was a flawed policy. And I also had some critical words for Stephane Dion as well as a leader for coming out with this policy at this time.
I then later took the time to read the policy in detail and reflect on it. And you know what, it is pretty good policy, and very thought out. I better understand the potential benefits the plan has to our environment, our economy and our communities. I also feel that regardless of whether or not the plan is good or not, Dion at least has the integrity to stand behind it and even make improvements on it. He's putting his neck on the line, being very much the Stephane Dion that stood up to Lucien Bouchard and Quebec seperatists and never backed off. Gotta admire and respect him for that.
I am a Young Liberal. Jean Chretien always used to say that it is the Young Liberal role to agitate and press the party to do better. As a Young Liberal in Northern BC trying to get the party to be more reflective of issues and concerns facing the North, I do that job quite well. That is why I was asked to run, and that's why I am running.
And since my July post, the Liberals have strengthened the Green Shift to include additional benefits for rural communities. I feel proud to take this message to the people of Cariboo-Prince George this election.
I have full and renewed confidence in Stephane Dion and the Liberal Party. But that does not mean that I will not continue to agitate and press the party to do better, particularly for Northern and Interior BC. I'd be derelict in my duty as a Young Liberal otherwise.
I can't believe he has confidence in Stephane Dion now, given his election performance so far.
Update at 9:58 PM
This story has already made it to the Canada.com election blog.
