Thurbert Baker, the AG who said no

(Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker, front left, with his family, is running for governor in 2010. Photo: ThurbertBaker.com)Fourteen states are jointly suing the federal government over health reform, plus Virginia. Georgia isn't among them, because its Democratic attorney general, Thurbert Baker, decided it would be a waste of time and taxpayer money. His refusal had already made Georgia's governor, Republican Sonny Perdue, mad enough to ask for a special attorney general.Now Republican Rep. Mark Hatfield has introduced a resolution to impeach Baker. Hatfield's measure, co-sponsored by 30 Republicans, declares that Baker's "shameful abdication of his lawful duties shows him unfit to serve the State of Georgia." Hatfield makes the standard Tea Party/Tenther, arguing that health reform violates Constitutional limits on federal authority.It's worth reading Baker's letter to the governor explaining why he won't be filing suit. As you might expect a legal letter to be, it's a little dry, but not overly. And at two pages, it's one of the clearest technical defenses of health reform I've seen so far. The day is still young (for us, anyway), but it's seeming like Baker will be on the show tonight. I'm looking forward to it.