This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," March 19, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Joining us live to discuss this, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Good evening, Governor.
SARAH PALIN, FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR/FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, Greta. How are you?
VAN SUSTEREN: I'm very well. And of course, I love the view behind you, the beautiful state of Alaska where you are. What's the temperature up there, by the way?
PALIN: Oh, it must be in the 30s. It feels kind of balmy and the snow is melting quickly.
VAN SUSTEREN: Well, I figured. Well, it's sort of balmy here, but for different reasons. The tension's pretty high in the air and warming things up. So let's get started. Health care reform -- by the way, are you in favor of some health care reform?
PALIN: Oh, there are some fixes that are needed, absolutely, so that we can have more health care, more affordable health care. But this comprehensive takeover of the health care system that the private sector can run better than government is nonsensical. It's not supported by the public, and it's very, very frustrating for most of us to watch this process happen to us.
VAN SUSTEREN: Well, speaking of watching it, it's pretty -- pretty nasty here in Washington. And of course, this bill is not bipartisan. And every executive, whether you're a governor of a state or president of the United States, wants a bipartisan bill. Where did this one go off the rails in terms of achieving the bipartisan nature that we all so very much covet?
PALIN: It's an absolute broken promise of President Obama's that there would be an attempt, anyway, at bipartisanship. It really reflects a lack of experience of President Obama's, which -- it was warned about during the campaign, that candidate Obama didn't have executive experience. He hasn't been an administrator or a manager of anything.
So to jump into this huge, hugely important, responsible position as president of the United States without the experience to know how to work across party lines and to know how to administer and to manage a team to get policy through that makes sense and supported by the people, it's a bit over his head, if you will, and things aren't going well.
And the public is really voicing their frustration. That's what you mentioned in the 100,000 plus calls that are choking up Congress's switchboard right now, that's the voice of the people and their frustration.
VAN SUSTEREN: Why couldn't though -- I mean, you know, all right, I got it on President Obama. But what about Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid? Because neither one of them has been able to achieve the bipartisan, either, on this bill. What happened?
PALIN: They've really dug their heels in now. And now I think there is so much at stake for them that there is no way that they can backtrack and compromise at this point, and that's why they're starting to buy people's votes in Congress. Now, you're going to see in the next couple of days, unfortunately, more of the revelation of what kind of deals are actually stuck into this "Obamacare" scheme because they have dug in their heels and there's no other way to get this thing rammed through except to start purchasing these fencesitters' votes, and you're going to see some of that in the next couple of days.
VAN SUSTEREN: You know, it's sort of interesting, is that when you run for office, you know, you run to your base, you collect your party's votes or whatever. When you become an executive, all of a sudden, you've got to govern over those who might not have wanted to have you elected as the president or whatever. How do you -- what's the strategy for gaining the faith and confidence of those who didn't vote for you?
PALIN: You know, there has to be that talent or that gift incorporated within you as an administrator to be diplomatic and to compromise when necessary. President Obama and Speaker Pelosi and Harry Reid -- they haven't been able to compromise at all. They haven't -- they haven't invited the Republicans in to hear their broad-based incremental- type support for some of the steps that need to be taken to reform health care.
They haven't listened to the Republicans on this. They've dug their heels in, and that's caused this train wreck that's about to happen. The train wreck will happen if, as we assume, this Sunday vote is taken, where Americans are going to exhale our collective breath and we are going to breathe into this new environment either a land of new opportunities for Americans to realize, OK, the opportunity now is to oust those who have voted for this bill that goes against the will of the people, or will exhale into this environment of snuffed opportunities for Americans because government will grow, debt will -- more debt will incur, more of our freedoms will be taken away, more expensive health care will ensue with this vote that will be taken on Sunday if it results in "Obama's care" passing.
VAN SUSTEREN: What would you have liked to have seen done in terms of the 30 million or so uninsured? What would you have done?
PALIN: We need more health care providers, for one. There are steps that states can take, like we have taken up here in Alaska, to incentivize more health care providers to come here to supply more health care. And of course, when there is greater demand, and there will be greater demand because Baby Boomers are aging, we need more health care providers.
Let the states take control of some of the health care fixes that we have to see, instead of the federal government thinking that it needs to come in and take over everything and run it better than a state or than the private sector can take. There are many steps that a lot of -- again, the Republicans have introduced and proposed that have been ignored, so that we can have interstate competition with health care coverage purchases and more of the states' rights being respected so states can take over some of the problems and fix some of the problems.
Instead, this comprehensive takeover of health care is I think the absolute worst way that we can ever imagine trying to fix the things that are broken with health care in America.
VAN SUSTEREN: What should a member of Congress, or in the case the Senate, when the Senate votes on these questions do, if, let's say that your constituents back home are opposed to something but you believe, good heart, good mind, that this is really a smart vote? Maybe the message hasn't been communicated, or whatever. Do you vote against your constituents consistent with your good conscience, or do you vote your good -- or, you know, which way do you vote on that?
PALIN: This is a representative form in our democracy. We elect our representatives to adhere to the will of the people, especially in the case of this "Obamacare." I don't know how any congressman can in their own good conscience think that this is the fix to health care challenges.
So I think those who are going to vote for this "Obamacare," a lot of the yes votes are going to be because they've been given some sweetheart deals that they think will ingratiate them to their constituents. They have another thing coming, though, in November. I think you're going to see an uprising of this disdain for this proposal called "Obamacare," this disdain for the yes votes that may come down on Sunday. These congressmen who will be voting yes have another thing coming in November.
VAN SUSTEREN: You know, it's sort of interesting to see the people or the citizen activists. I mean, we see people on Capitol Hill, and it's sort of hard to distinguish whether, you know, we're seeing sort of the spring break and the tourists or whether we're seeing activists who are knocking on doors. It's sort of hard to distinguish. But we are expecting somewhat of a protest tomorrow. I don't know if it'll be of any magnitude. But we do know that the phone lines have been jammed, some provoked by Rush Limbaugh, who's got an enormous audience and can get people to call, but -- but it does feel the citizens are more active now. Why?
PALIN: People are very active with this cause right now, Greta, and it's encouraging for me to hear and to see. I know that a lot of my friends who aren't political, they're just very independent, hard-working, average Americans -- they're up in arms about this issue because they realize, too, the federal government growing to take over such an important aspect of our lives, health care, is not the answer to the problems that we face.
The private sector really can do this better, and our families and our small businesses and our individual states and communities should be empowered to make our own decisions on health care, not the federal government. So people are up in arms about this.
And I think an angle in this that we haven't heard a whole lot about yet, Greta, is that even those who perhaps will be voting against this health care scheme coming down the pike on Sunday, those in the Republican Party who have not had their voice be heard vigorously in opposition to what Obama, Pelosi and Reid are doing to America with this cause -- I think that they're going to have some lessons taught to them, too, because we expect those who are in positions in power in Congress, even in the Republican Party -- we expect them to stand up and to voice opposition to what these characters in Congress are doing to us with "Obamacare."
Those who have decided instead to kind of not make any waves and kind of sit down and shut up and go with the flow and still cast a no vote -- we're not -- we're not pleased with that tactic, either. And you're going to see some contested primaries in the Republican Party because of those who have chosen to not have their voices -- voices in power to be heard.
VAN SUSTEREN: Well, it's certainly going to be fascinating here. We have no idea what's going to happen come this weekend in terms of these numbers. But Governor, thank you very much for joining us.
PALIN: Thanks so much, Greta. Talk to you soon.
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