Speech at 2015 CPAC conference: on Health Care

Ben Carson: Obamacare is about restriction and control

Carson spent much of his 12-minute address ripping President Obama's Affordable Care Act as well as other federal entitlement programs, telling the crowd that "Obamacare is about restriction and control."

"Everything that these programs were supposed to fix has gotten worse," he said.

Carson went on to briefly touch on a series of ideas that are typically well-received among conservatives, including trimming the national debt and reducing the size of government. "One of the things that is going to destroy us as a nation is our debt," he said, as several members of the audience yelled "yes" in support. "The size of our government needs to be going down and the debt needs to be going down."

Sarah Palin: Vouchers for veterans' health care outside the VA system

Palin didn't just criticize; she offered her own policy suggestions for improving veterans' lives. She suggested, for instance, that Congress should pass legislation to secure veterans' benefits permanently. She also said that the government should provide vouchers to veterans to pay for health care outside the VA system.

Ted Cruz: Washington wants ObamaCare, the people want liberty

As for his GOP rivals also eyeing the White House, Cruz seemed to raise doubts about their credentials and called on the audience to demand that all presidential aspirants demonstrate their conservative bona fides: "Demand action, not talk," Cruz said. "If a candidate tells you that they oppose ObamaCare, fantastic! But when have you stood up and fought against it? If a candidate says they oppose Obama's illegal executive amnesty, terrific. When have you stood up and fought against it?

"Repeal every blasted word of ObamaCare," Cruz concluded.