Democrats grow a spine. At last.

Harry Reid, US Senate Majority Leader, wrote a letter to Republicans outlining Democrats' plans to pass the healthcare reform bill through reconciliation. That plan is not unexpected, of course; what is surprising is the firm tone of determination in that letter:

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. Either way, we disagree.

Atta boy, Harry! Paul Krugman is pleasantly surprised, while Ezra Klein summed it up best in his post title: Reconcile this.