Evans Threatens to De-Fund PA Attorney General in Tiff

In a Democratic response to Attorney General Tom Corbett’s decision to join 13 other states in filing a lawsuit against the Obama health care legislation, House Appropriations Chairman Dwight Evans threatened to “do whatever it takes” to thwart the AG’s efforts. Incensed, Evans even went so far as to say he would be willing to cut off all state appropriations to the Office of the Attorney General to prevent Corbett from fighting this legislation. Here is probably the most priceless quote of his response:

“We are accountable to the voters of this state. He cannot think that he can do whatever he wants with taxpayer money. No one can protect him from being accountable.”

This statement, coming from Evans, just screams hypocrisy. First of all, Evans should think about following his own advice, as he is one of the most notorious proponents of “WAMs” in the Legislature, with taxpayer dollars going to fund his own community group and a failed nightclub venture.

Second, President Obama, Gov. Rendell, and others used plenty of taxpayer funding to build a PR campaign around the very legislation Corbett is challenging. Tax dollars were used for everything from rallies to newsletters to press conferences, trying to gain support for these unpopular “reforms”.

Furthermore, Evans threat seems a clear violation of the separation of powers, and threatens the independence of the Attorney General. Indeed, it seems particularly curious, coming a mere two days after Corbett secured a conviction against Evans’ former House Democrat colleague Mike Veon, and is continuing his investigation and prosecution of House Democrats.

Lastly, the lawsuit being filed isn’t over some flippant issue. There are legitimate Constitutional concerns over the legality of this legislation. Not only does the legislation violate the 10^th Amendment, but the fiscal impact of the health care bill will assuredly cost Pennsylvanians billions of dollars.