George,

Yes, the Daily Progress story did hurt Perriello. But all Democrats voting for the cap and trade are being charged with the same canard. The proper way to frame it is this "Instead of allowing polluters to use the air we breathe as a receptacle for their wastes - and with no charge - the cap and trade system is the beginning of a tax system that taxes the things we don't want to increase, like air pollution, and reduces the pressure on taxes for things we want to promote- like employment."

You can call it a tax increase, but an increase of taxes on something we've ignored, the pollution of the integrity of our bodies and the air we breathe. More of that, and less of the Tea Party superficiality and distortion.

Rich Collins (Electronic mail, July 3, 2009)