Senator Dayton Bugs Out
Breaking on Drudge, Mark Dayton closes his Senate office and flees Washington in the face of potential terrorism attacks. In his comments today, he's demonstrably spooked:
Asked what advise he would have for Minnesotans who want to travel to Washington over the next few weeks, Dayton said, "I wouldn't advise them to come to Capitol Hill. I would not bring my two sons to the capitol between now and the election."
According to reports, he's basing this move on "top secret" intelligence reports, provided to all Senators two weeks ago. Given the fact no other legislators have made similar panicked maneuvers, and the Department of Homeland Security and Capitol Police deny the existence of any new or specific threat, it's hard to interpret what Dayton is up to here.
If there are specific, credible threats he's reacting to, why hasn't anyone else taken evasive action. I wonder if he could be breaking some sort of agreed upon code of silence, imposed to avoid unduly worrying the public (or to avoid tipping off the potential perpetrators).
The other possibility is that this is Dayton's clumsy attempt to grab some headlines and to score some partisan points in the process. Some of his comments do reflect such a motivation:
Dayton issued a written statement that complained of inaction by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn."On three occasions, I have spoken personally with the majority leader and asked him to convene a meeting of all Senators to discuss this situation. I am dismayed, and perplexed, by his unwillingness to meet with us further about the information, which he initially brought to our attention. In the absence of that further discussion, I have made my own decision about my office, as is my responsibility," Dayton said.
It almost sounds as if Dayton is trying to get out in front of any potential terrorist attack that may happen in DC, planting the seeds of the "Frist Knew" theory early and setting himself up as some sort of prescient whistleblower. In the tragic eventuality of an attack, would Dayton's role as a prophet of doom actually score him political points? Is he that cynical to think it would?
To reach Senator Dayton for comment, please contact the concrete bunker at his Fort Snelling office.
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