UPDATE: DAYTON THE COWARD #14
Pioneer Editorial: Dayton's act puzzling in terror threat
It makes sense to be prepared in case of a pending disaster, such as Florida’s recent bouts with hurricanes. But it is quite another thing to overreact to a perceived threat and hit the panic button.
We wonder if U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, DFL-Minn., didn’t do just that Tuesday.
As the Senate ended its business and entered its election recess, Dayton took the unusual route of physically closing his Capitol Hill office, sending his staff home and making plans himself to vacate the nation’s capital. The reason: a top secret intelligence report which Dayton said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., presented to senators at a closed-door briefing two weeks ago. While not revealing the contents of the report, the Bush administration has long worried about al-Qaeda mounting some sort of offensive timed to Election Day.
“I take this step out of extreme, but necessary, precaution to protect the lives and safety of my Senate staff and my Minnesota constituents, who might otherwise be visiting my Senate office in the next three weeks,” said Dayton, who is moving his operations to Minnesota until after the election and warns Minnesotans not to visit the Capitol.
But Frist and others maintain that there is no new intelligence which targets the Capitol any more than any other populous spot in the nation, such as New York City, which has perpetually been on “orange” alert since 9/11. NYC, New Jersey and the District of Columbia have been on the higher “orange” alert since this summer when intelligence targeted financial institutions.
Dayton seems to be the only lawmaker who is fearful of an attack, and is closing up shop until after the election. Fellow Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, a Republican, plans to keep his office open. Dayton’s action is concerning to Coleman, as it may be “sending the message to terrorists that you’re fleeing the city,” said Coleman’s chief of staff, Erich Mische. “You can’t let them feel as though they scared you out of your own government.”
Which causes us to wonder: Does Sen. Dayton know something we don’t but should know? Source: Bemidji Pioneer, October 13, 2004
It makes sense to be prepared in case of a pending disaster, such as Florida’s recent bouts with hurricanes. But it is quite another thing to overreact to a perceived threat and hit the panic button.
We wonder if U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, DFL-Minn., didn’t do just that Tuesday.
As the Senate ended its business and entered its election recess, Dayton took the unusual route of physically closing his Capitol Hill office, sending his staff home and making plans himself to vacate the nation’s capital. The reason: a top secret intelligence report which Dayton said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., presented to senators at a closed-door briefing two weeks ago. While not revealing the contents of the report, the Bush administration has long worried about al-Qaeda mounting some sort of offensive timed to Election Day.
“I take this step out of extreme, but necessary, precaution to protect the lives and safety of my Senate staff and my Minnesota constituents, who might otherwise be visiting my Senate office in the next three weeks,” said Dayton, who is moving his operations to Minnesota until after the election and warns Minnesotans not to visit the Capitol.
But Frist and others maintain that there is no new intelligence which targets the Capitol any more than any other populous spot in the nation, such as New York City, which has perpetually been on “orange” alert since 9/11. NYC, New Jersey and the District of Columbia have been on the higher “orange” alert since this summer when intelligence targeted financial institutions.
Dayton seems to be the only lawmaker who is fearful of an attack, and is closing up shop until after the election. Fellow Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, a Republican, plans to keep his office open. Dayton’s action is concerning to Coleman, as it may be “sending the message to terrorists that you’re fleeing the city,” said Coleman’s chief of staff, Erich Mische. “You can’t let them feel as though they scared you out of your own government.”
Which causes us to wonder: Does Sen. Dayton know something we don’t but should know? Source: Bemidji Pioneer, October 13, 2004
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