It's official: Sarah Palin is full of something brown and stinky

Sarah Palin in the Wall Street Journal today:

"Now look at one way Mr. Obama wants to eliminate inefficiency and waste: He's asked Congress to create an Independent Medicare Advisory Council—an unelected, largely unaccountable group of experts charged with containing Medicare costs... But the fact remains that the Democrats' proposals would still empower unelected bureaucrats to make decisions affecting life or death health-care matters. Such government overreaching is what we've come to expect from this administration."

Then-Governor Palin in December of last year:

"The Alaska Health Care Commission was established by Governor Palin on December 4, 2008 under Administrative Order #246. The Commission will serve as the state health planning and coordinating body, providing recommendations to the governor and the legislature on a comprehensive statewide health care policy and on strategies for improving the health of Alaskans."

Who's on that panel? I'm so glad you asked. According to the commission's Web site, "The Alaska Health Care Commission consists of 10 members. Membership requirements are specified in the Administrative Order, and include the state’s chief medical officer (who also serves as chairperson of the commission), an Alaska health care provider and an Alaska health care consumer, and one representative each from the Alaska tribal health system, the Alaska health insurance industry, the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce, and the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association. Three nonvoting members are representatives from the state Senate, House of Representatives, and executive branch."

A group of unelected, unaccountable "experts" making decisions about health care policy? If it's good enough for Alaska, why isn't it good enough for the rest of us?

UPDATE: Re-reading Palin's executive order, I realized that I missed something the first time around. This health commission wasn't a product of debate in Alaska's legislature. Palin issued an order which took effect immediately creating a commisiion whose members she appointed and could remove at will. "Top-down" government is evil... what?