Censuring Bush: MN's own Dayton takes a surprising stand

Ok, maybe not. Senator Mark Dayton (D-MN - not returning, thank God) has oft been guilty of the same charges that his party has often leveled at his brother-in-arms, Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN), that of been the Party's attack dog (how does such a nice state get such reputations?)

Dayton has fired a volley at Presidential wanna-be, and next door neighbor, Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), as reported in TNR,

But instead of embracing the [censuring] proposal, Democrats, especially Feingold's Senate colleagues, are running from it. On Thursday, Mark Dayton, a Democratic senator from Minnesota harshly rebuked Feingold. "It's an overreaching step by someone who is grandstanding and running for president at the expense of his own party and his own country," Dayton said. "I think it's a very dangerous territory for the democracy that we have in this country to be playing around with those kinds of resolutions, without any consultations from his colleagues. I think it was irresponsible."

Now, is Dayton (and the Dems) upset about the position, or merely not being a party to it? I can't tell.

Of course, Feingold's position on the whole issue is just as virtuous (same article),

Feingold is mystified by the reaction. Democrats, he said this week, are "cowering with this president's numbers so low." The liberal blogosphere, aghast at how wimpy Democrats are being, has risen up in a chorus of outrage: Everyone thinks Bush is an incompetent ass! We should be impeaching him!

God, with all this Deaniac hysteria, I am going to love 2006.

Wasn't there a time when Senators thought it beneath themselves to engage in such low-brow behavior?