Sarah Palin Conjures 'Death Panels' -- Again

Sarah Palin Warns Of 'Death Panels' -- Again

Sarah Palin sees "death panels" -- this time in the recommendations of the deficit commission.

In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Palin rails against the commission's findings, particularly because they bother to consider the current health care law in its analysis. The report even paves a way for the possible future implementation of the public option, Palin says, of which she is not a fan.

Particularly worrisome for Palin is the possibility of the creation of the Independent Payments Advisory Board, a potential "death panel," she writes:

"It also implicitly endorses the use of 'death panel'-like rationing by way of the new Independent Payments Advisory Board--making bureaucrats, not medical professionals, the ultimate arbiters of what types of treatment will (and especially will not) be reimbursed under Medicare."

It's a contention that even the National Review appears to find implausible, because of its belief that the IPAB wouldn't be given sufficient power to make any serious cost-cutting adjustments.

On top of these concerns, Palin writes, "among the few areas of spending it does single out for cuts is defense -- the one area where we shouldn't be cutting corners at a time of war."

In the end, Sarah Palin concludes that America should instead adopt the plan of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), an economic blueprint that would replace the recent health care reform law, slash taxes for corporations, and open the door for the privatization of Social Security.

As the debate over health care reform dominated the discourse in 2009, Palin took to Facebook and warned that "Obama's 'death panel'" could determine whether her child with Down Syndrome lives or dies.

Newt Gingrich defended the sensational claim and just days later Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley endorsed the idea, which soon took on a life of its own and became a defining -- and controversial -- talking point of the health care debate.

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