Dayton's Bugout

Senator Mark Dayton (D-MN) was ridiculed by many for shutting down his offices on Capitol Hill when the Senate recessed a couple of weeks ago. He explained that he had heard top-secret intel about a possible terror attack on the Capitol, and refused to leave his staff to face the risk while he went back to Minnesota. He said that it was "an extreme, but necessary precaution."

Dayton was criticized by Repug colleagues for being "paranoid" or a "coward," and even by many Democrats for overreacting. The WSWS reminds us, however, that Democrats in the Senate WERE attacked three years ago, with antrax letters delivered to Senators Tom Daschle and Pat Leahy, and that two years ago Monday Dayton's fellow Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone was killed in a very mysterious plane crash.

What Repugs are saying, I think, is that only they are allowed to play the fear card. I think they've worn it out already.