That's One Sorry Senator You've Got There

Minnesota's Democratic Senator Mark Dayton has apologized for saying "[t]he Mayo Clinic is worth a hell of a lot more than the whole state of South Dakota."  Now dollar-wise he might be on to something, but disparaging an entire state is not exactly the gentlemanly thing to do.  Senator Thune responds:

February 28th, 2006 - Washington, DC - Senator John Thune made the following comments today after Senator Mark Dayton (D-MN) issued Thune an apology for his disparaging remarks about South Dakota:

"For months now, Senator Dayton has been attacking me personally. Just this morning in one of our nation's largest newspapers, Senator Dayton went so far as to characterize my efforts to create jobs in South Dakota and improve our economy as unethical. I let these attacks go because of their absurd nature. However, I felt it appropriate to demand an apology from Senator Dayton when he directly criticized the state of South Dakota.

"Senator Dayton has since issued an apology for his inappropriate remark about South Dakota. I accept Senator Dayton's apology and hope that he will now join me, and the rest of the South Dakota and Minnesota delegations, as we work to improve our region's economy. There is widespread support for the DM&E rail project in both South Dakota and Minnesota because it will create thousands of jobs."

Please find a PDF copy of Senator Dayton's letter of apology.

Mayo is located in my hometown of Rochester.  As a medical facility I have the utmost respect for them.  Rochester is the best place in the world to get sick.  Mayo's beef with DM&E is that they don't want more trains running through downtown Rochester causing a traffic problem for the clinic's patients and employees.  There was some talk a while back of making a bypass around town, but I think that got defeated.  Anyone have any information on that?  Anyhow, that's Mayo's position and they are entitled to it.  South Dakota is also entitled to defend its own interests.  And Senator Dayton proves once again why it's a good thing he's quitting the US Senate after one term.

Update: I stand corrected.  South Dakota is worth five Mayo Clinics.