Georgia Lawmakers Threaten to Impeach AG Thurbert Baker After His Refusal to File Anti-Health Care Lawsuit

Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker faces impeachment after refusing to file anti-health care lawsuit.

Georgia lawmakers are threatening to impeach Attorney General Thurbert Baker, a Democrat, over his decision to not sign on to a multi-state lawsuit to block the health care bill. The blog Peach Pundit reports that the resolution to impeach Baker, who is also a candidate for governor, has at least 30 signatures and is still going forward. The basis for his "impeachment" is his alleged violation of Article V, Section 3, Paragraph IV of the state Constitution and OCGA §45-15-35, both of which stipulate that the AG take on matters of the state in court at the direction of the governor, who happens to be Sonny Perdue, a Republican.

Baker basically told Perdue no when he was petitioned to sign on the the joint lawsuit filed by more than a dozen attorneys general across the United States earlier this week that seeks to shield states from the effects of the new health bill, including the "individual mandate," which forces most people to buy insurance or face a fine if they don't comply. In a two-page response to the governor, Baker said, "I cannot justify a decision to initiate expensive and time-consuming litigation that I believe has no legal merit.""In short, this litigation is likely to fail and will consume significant amounts of taxpayers' hard-earned money in the process," he added.

Well, this so-called impeachment of Thurbert Baker is nothing more than a distraction. The reality is that for the process to be successful, it needs a vote of one-half of the State House and two-thirds of the State Senate, so it's a longshot that he will be impeached. I have my reservations about Thurbert Baker and would not vote for  him in any election for any public office because of what he did to then-teenager Genarlow Wilson. He was only too happy to keep this young man locked up on a 10-year prison sentence for a consensual sexual encounter he had as a teenager. Wilson has since been released.