Harry Reid is taking the gloves off. In a letter sent yesterday to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Reid really laid it out in some pretty plain terms. I love Harry Reid. He makes me proud to be a Mormon Democrat.

My only question is why it took so long. Screw bipartisanship - as if the Republicans ever had any serious intentions of cooperating on this. When, 6 months ago, the Republicans took the route of referring to end-of-life counseling as "death panels" - a cynical lie of absolutely astounding proportions - it became pretty apparent what the Republicans' intentions were. It was pretty apparent that Democratic efforts to get Republican votes were a waste of time. Way to go Harry! Call 'em out for the liars and hypocrites that they are. Let's get it done!

Here's my favorite part of the letter that goes directly to Republican criticisms about using reconciliation to pass this bill...

As you know, the vast majority of bills developed through reconciliation were passed by Republican Congresses and signed into law by Republican Presidents – including President Bush’s massive, budget-busting tax breaks for multi-millionaires. Given this history, one might conclude that Republicans believe a majority vote is sufficient to increase the deficit and benefit the super-rich, but not to reduce the deficit and benefit the middle class. Alternatively, perhaps Republicans believe a majority vote is appropriate only when Republicans are in the majority.

Harry Reid's letter to Mitch McConnell