Palin’s ‘death panel’ drumbeat is a disservice
| August 13, 2009 | 1:52 PM
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I want to like Sarah Palin. She’s spunky and independent, she’s done some good things for the people of Alaska, and she’s not influenced by what other people think. I admire that.
But then she goes and does something just plain odd. Like resign 18 months before her term expires so she won’t subject Alaskans to a lame-duck governor. Or vow up one side and down the other that Congress’ health reform bill will create sci-fi-like “death panels” who kill off the elderly and disabled because they aren’t productive members of society.
Palin first made the “death panel” leap of logic a few days ago. She reiterated her view in a Facebook post Wednesday that was a response to Barack Obama’s comments in a town hall meeting Tuesday in which he called such claims “misinformation.”
I’ve read the section of the reform bill where the “death panels” are said to lurk. I’ve read it several times, in fact. They just don’t exist. The section in question stipulates that doctors will be paid when they consult with a patient on morally and legally complicated end-of-life issues such as living wills and health proxies. Doctors are already doing this for free.
By continuing to riff on the “death panel” theme, Palin is doing a disservice to her fellow Republicans and to the ordinary Americans who oppose the reform bill but aren’t going around disrupting town-hall meetings. And in turn, it plays right into the Democratic strategy of making reform opponents look like loons.
I’m not saying that the reform bill is all sunshine and roses. There are a lot of good provisions in it — getting rid of penalties for pre-existing conditions, for one — but there is also a lot not to like, such as its questionable long-term financial sustainability. This is the approach that opponents should be focusing on. Logic and reason. Not “death panels.”
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barack obama, death panel, health reform, sarah palin
