Dion's shifty green carbon tax claims first victims

And appropriately they're Liberals. Robert Morrissey has withdrawn his name as the Liberal's star candidate in the riding of Egmont in Prince Edward Island.

Robert Morrissey is clearly feeling the heat on the carbon tax and doesn’t want to campaign on raising the price of gas, home-heating fuel and groceries, says the federal Conservative Party’s director of communications.

Ryan Sparrow was reacting Wednesday to the surprise announcement by the star Liberal candidate that he was withdrawing his name as the nominated candidate in Egmont.

Morrissey won that nomination in front of a crowd of more than 1,300 last November in Woodstock. He defeated former P.E.I. premier Keith Milligan and Angie Cormier, a Cap-Egmont businesswoman, to win the nod.

“The Liberals can deliver their talking points all they want but everyone knows the deal. You don’t win a hotly contested nomination meeting for a long-held Liberal riding and then just quit,’’ Sparrow said from Ottawa.

“Morrissey is clearly feeling the heat on the carbon tax and doesn’t want to campaign on raising the price of gas, home heating fuel and groceries.’’

And now there's late breaking news that another Liberal candidate is stepping down, this time in Saskatchewan.

If there's to be a federal election this fall, the Liberals will need to get a candidate in Palliser.

Long-time nominated candidate Gary Oledzki is stepping down for personal and professional reasons.

The party is now on the search for a replacement.

All this comes as Dion claims he's ready to take on Stephen Harper's Conservatives in an election. Right. And Dion's shifty green carbon tax is all about the environment and not higher taxes and redistribution of wealth.

Liberals are being left in the dust by Conservatives when it comes to raising cash. They're in the same ballpark as third-place New Democrats.

It appears that the wheels are falling off Stephane Dion's election bus - even before an election has been called.