Heads up: GOP preparing to impeach NC AG Roy Cooper over gay marriage

[blm]

http://www.carolinacoastonline.com/news_times/article_a9f63168-1f0c-11e4-b1db-0019bb2963f4.html


MOREHEAD CITY — Republicans in the N.C. General Assembly plan to overrule or impeach the state’s attorney general following his statements on the recent appellate court ruling overturning a ban on same-sex marriages in Virginia.

N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper, a Democrat who has all but announced his intention to run for governor in 2016, said July 28 that his office would no longer defend in court this state’s voter-approved constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, called Amendment One. His comments came about two hours after a federal appeals court ruled the similar prohibition in neighboring Virginia as unconstitutional. He said the 4th Circuit Court ruling made it highly likely North Carolina’s ban will be overturned. That court hears appeals from the nine federal district courts, including North Carolina.
Sen. Norm Sanderson, R-Pamlico and also representing Carteret County, said Thursday the top leadership in both GOP-controlled branches of the legislature are working to remove Mr. Cooper from office.

“Last year in the legislation we passed, was if both the speaker of the House and the president of the Senate come together, come to terms and say that the attorney general is not representing the citizens of North Carolina like they ought to be, then we have set-aside money to hire private counsel to represent us and that’s what’s getting ready to happen,” Mr. Sanderson said.

His comments came during the inaugural meeting of the Morehead-Beaufort Tea Party held upstairs at Floyd’s 1921 Restaurant on Bridges Street. About 16 were in attendance, including a News-Times reporter.
“If he’s not going to defend what we, the citizens of North Carolina, want him to defend, we need to probably impeach him because he’s been a vocal opponent of the marriage amendment ever since it was passed,” Mr. Sanderson said.
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[blm]

1. GOP and Kochs are REALLY focused on NC:

http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2014/08/08/plans-afoot-to-impeach-attorney-general-roy-cooper/

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/koch-brothers-kay-hagan-103406.html

[yeoman6987]

2. I think they are doing this

to stop him from running for Governor.

[blm]

6. Oh, they definitely want to keep him from running against Precious Pat McCrory.

.

[AtomicKitten]

3. k and r

It's a battle that has already been won. They just don't accept it. They will, one lawsuit at a time.

[gratuitous]

4. Puzzling

I thought Republicans were against wasteful government spending. The AG has made a judgment call that pursuing the appeal of an unconstitutional law is a waste of time, resources, and money. If the Republicans want to waste their time and money (and their recent history says hell to the yeah), they can spend their own.

[dsc]

5. I don't remember if the law as passed specifically let the legislature defend or not

if it does then they should just go ahead and defend the law if that is what they want to do. It would be insane to impeach over this.