How do you like progress?

1993 - Harry and Louise killed healthcare reform

2009 - Harry and Louise, okay, yep, don't even need 'em

Isn't this one of the more instructive lessons of this latest healthcare head-fake? That sixteen years ago the healthcare industry had to go full throttle working public opinion, and this year they only had to just work the pols.

It's hard to disagree with Matt Taibbi:

Here we had a political majority in congress and a popular president armed with oodles of political capital and backed by the overwhelming sentiment of perhaps 150 million Americans, and this government could not bring itself to offend ten thousand insurance men in order to pass a bill that addresses an urgent emergency.