RIGHT SPEAK Vice-Presidential Poll UPDATE (04-08-12)

Palin on the Issues: Health Care Reform

This is the fourth installment of a series of posts highlighting Sarah Palin's policy positions. The following is a list of op-eds and Facebook writings by Palin, relating to health care. Following each link, is a brief excerpt from each article.

Palin has been a vocal critic of ObamaCare from day one - coining the phrase "death panels," which very succinctly describes what typically happens when government-run health care programs run out of money - ultimately resulting in rationed care.

In addition to leading the charge in the battle against ObamaCare, Palin has proposed numerous free-market solutions to improving the affordability and accessibility of health care insurance. Several are included in her op-eds and Facebook posts. They include - giving individuals the same tax benefits received by those who get coverage through their employers, Medicare vouchers, tort reform, allowing people to purchase insurance across state lines, tackling existing government waste and fraud, and health savings accounts.

The first three installments of this series (Energy Independence, Entitlement Reform, and National Security / Foreign Policy) can be found under the tag, "Palin on the Issues." I will provide updates to these to include Palin's new writings as they become available.

Op-ed

Obama and the Bureaucratization of Health Care (Wall Street Journal) (Sept. 8th, 2009)

...Instead of poll-driven "solutions," let's talk about real health-care reform: market-oriented, patient-centered, and result-driven. As the Cato Institute's Michael Cannon and others have argued, such policies include giving all individuals the same tax benefits received by those who get coverage through their employers; providing Medicare recipients with vouchers that allow them to purchase their own coverage; reforming tort laws to potentially save billions each year in wasteful spending; and changing costly state regulations to allow people to buy insurance across state lines. Rather than another top-down government plan, let's give Americans control over their own health care...

Facebook Posts (20):

Palin on the Issues: National Security / Foreign Policy

This is the third installment of a series of posts highlighting Sarah Palin's policy positions. The following is a list of op-eds and Facebook writings by Palin, relating to national security. Following each link, is a brief excerpt from each article.

Over the past two years, Palin has shared her views on Iran, Iraq, border security, Afghanistan, Libya, missile defense, the New START Treaty, and more. In addition to her writings, she frequently discusses national security issues in her speeches and in television interviews. Much to the dismay of some of her loudest critics, it's fairly clear that she has, in fact, "boned up on the issues."

The first two installments of this series (Energy Independence and Entitlement Reform) can be found under the tag, "Palin on the Issues." I will provide updates to these to include Palin's new writings as they become available.

Op-Eds:

It’s time to get tough with Iran (Dec. 21, 2010)

...President Obama once said a nuclear-armed Iran would be "unacceptable." Yet, Iran's nuclear progress still continues unchecked. Russia continues to support Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactors. It also continues to sell arms to Iran — despite the Obama administration's much-touted "reset" policy with Russia. The administration trumpets the United Nations sanctions passed earlier this year, but those sanctions are not the "crippling" ones we were promised. Much more can be done, such as banning insurance for shipments to Iran, banning all military sales to Iran, ending all trade credits, banning all financial dealings with Iranian banks, limiting Iran's access to international capital markets and banking services, closing air space and waters to Iran's national air and shipping lines, and, especially, ending Iran's ability to import refined petroleum. These would be truly "crippling" sanctions. They would work if implemented....

Senate Republicans: Vote No on New START (Dec 17th, 2010)

...New START recognizes a link between offensive and defensive weapons – a position the Russians have sought for years. Russia claims the treaty constrains U.S. missile defenses and that they will withdraw from the treaty if we pursue missile defenses. This linkage virtually guarantees that either we limit our missile defenses or the Russians will withdraw from the treaty. The Obama administration claims that this is not the case; but if that is true, why agree to linking offensive and defensive weapons in the treaty?...

Facebook Posts (15):

Palin on the Issues: Energy Independence

There's been a lot of discussion about energy policy on Right Speak over the past two days. Since this will be a defining issue in the upcoming campaign, it's certainly a worthy topic. Earlier today, my good friend Doug produced a brilliantly written piece highlighting Mitt Romney's views on energy, referencing Romney's book, No Apology. While I didn't find much to disagree with in Doug's post, I thought it would be fair to briefly highlight Sarah Palin's experience with energy, and provide a reference for our readers to research her positions.

Prior to being elected Governor of a state which receives more than 80% of it's revenues from oil producers, Palin served as Chairwoman of the Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission, a regulatory body with jurisdiction over oil exploration in the state of Alaska. This hands-on experience alone puts her head and shoulders above any of the other potential candidates on energy issues.

Over the past two years, Palin has been a persistent advocate for energy independence - frequently prescribing detailed solutions to our dependence on foreign oil. The following is a very long list of op-eds and Facebook posts, relating to energy, written by Palin over the past two years. Following each link, is a brief excerpt from each article. In addition to her writings, she routinely discusses energy policy in her speeches and television interviews. I apologize for the length of the post. It just so happens that Palin discusses energy more than any other topic. This post does not discuss the entirety of her record on energy. I would need to write a book to cover it all. In fact, people have.

Op-eds (3):

The 'Cap And Tax' Dead End (6-14-2009)

...There is no denying that as the world becomes more industrialized, we need to reform our energy policy and become less dependent on foreign energy sources. But the answer doesn't lie in making energy scarcer and more expensive! Those who understand the issue know we can meet our energy needs and environmental challenges without destroying America's economy.

Job losses are so certain under this new cap-and-tax plan that it includes a provision accommodating newly unemployed workers from the resulting dried-up energy sector, to the tune of $4.2 billion over eight years. So much for creating jobs....

Stall, Baby, Stall (3-31-2010)

...Today the president said he’ll “consider potential areas for development in the mid and south Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, while studying and protecting sensitive areas in the Arctic.” As the former governor of one of America’s largest energy-producing states, a state oil and gas commissioner, and chair of the nation’s Interstate Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, I’ve seen plenty of such studies. What we need is action — action that results in the job growth and revenue that a robust drilling policy could provide. And let’s not forget that while Interior Department bureaucrats continue to hold up actual offshore drilling from taking place, Russia is moving full steam ahead on Arctic drilling, and China, Russia, and Venezuela are buying leases off the coast of Cuba.

As an Alaskan, I’m especially disheartened by the new ban on drilling in parts of the 49th state and the cancellation of lease sales in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. These areas contain rich oil and gas reserves whose development is key to our country’s energy security. As I told Secretary Salazar last April, “Arctic exploration and development is a slow, demanding process. Delays or major restrictions in accessing these resources for environmentally responsible development are not in the national interest or the interests of the State of Alaska.”...

Drill (10-16-2009)

...My home state of Alaska shows how it’s possible to be both pro-environment and pro-resource-development. Alaskans would never support anything that endangered our pristine air, clean water, and abundant wildlife (which, among other things, provides many of us with our livelihood). The state’s government has made safeguarding resources a priority; when I was governor, for instance, we created a petroleum-systems-integrity office to monitor our oil and gas infrastructure for any potential environmental risks.

Alaska also shows how oil drilling is thoroughly compatible with energy conservation and renewable-energy development. Over 20 percent of Alaska’s electricity currently comes from renewable sources, and as governor I put forward a long-term plan to increase that figure to 50 percent by 2025. Alaska’s comprehensive plan identifies renewable options across the state that can help rural villages transition away from expensive diesel-generated electricity — allowing each community to choose the solution that best fits its needs. That’s important in any energy plan: Tempting as they may be to central planners, top-down, one-size-fits-all solutions are recipes for failure...

Facebook Posts (18):

Palin on the Issues: Entitlement Reform

Earlier today, Pablo wrote about the need for more discussion about entitlement reform in the Republican party. I couldn't agree more with his assertion. However, I have to disagree with him on the following statement.

As far as I can tell, there are four Republicans who have publicly admitted that Medicare needs to be cut: Romney, Daniels, Christie, and Ryan.

A quick search uncovered the following:

Sarah Palin: Why I Support the Ryan Road Map

...In my view, a better plan is the Roadmap for America's Future produced by Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wisc.). The Roadmap offers a reliable path to long-term solvency for our entitlement programs, and it does so by encouraging personal responsibility and independence.

(...)

Beyond that, Rep. Ryan proposes fundamental reform of Medicare for those under 55 by turning the current benefit into a voucher with which people can purchase their own care.

On Social Security, as with Medicare, the Roadmap honors our commitments to those who are already receiving benefits by guaranteeing all existing rights to people over the age of 55. Those below that age are offered a choice: They can remain in the traditional government-run system or direct a portion of their payroll taxes to personal accounts, owned by them, managed by the Social Security Administration and guaranteed by the federal government. Under the Roadmap's proposals, they can pass these savings onto their heirs. The current Medicaid system, the majority of which is paid for by the federal government but administered by the states, would be replaced by a block-grant system that would reward economizing states....

Sarah Palin: Obama and the Bureaucratization of Health Care

...Instead of poll-driven “solutions,” let’s talk about real health-care reform: market-oriented, patient-centered, and result-driven. As the Cato Institute’s Michael Cannon and others have argued, such policies include giving all individuals the same tax benefits received by those who get coverage through their employers; providing Medicare recipients with vouchers that allow them to purchase their own coverage; reforming tort laws to potentially save billions each year in wasteful spending; and changing costly state regulations to allow people to buy insurance across state lines. Rather than another top-down government plan, let’s give Americans control over their own health care....

Sarah Palin: An Open Letter to Republican Freshmen Members of Congress

...In order to avert a fiscal disaster, we will also need to check the growth of spending on our entitlement programs. That will be a huge challenge, but it must be confronted head on. We must do it in a humane way that honors the government’s current commitments to our fellow Americans while also keeping faith with future generations. We cannot rob from our children and grandchildren’s tomorrow to pay for our unchecked spending today...

In addition, she has discussed entitlement programs in several interviews. In fact, it came up in her recent appearance at the Long Island Association's annual meeting.

In fairness to Pablo, I follow Palin much more closely than he does. However, I didn't need to reference her books to figure out where she stands on entitlement reform. It only took me about 2 minutes to compile the articles for this blog post.