House Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon has berated Senate Democrats for not taking action to stop the sequestration, sending an irate letter to Majority Leader Reid late last month. Reid replied snarkily this week, and McKeon fired right back in a widely circulated email on Thursday evening. Since McKeon’s response hadn’t been made publicly available online, we thought we’d post it ourselves for our readers’ reference:

“I am gratified that Senator Reid wishes to reach an agreement on sequestration ‘sooner rather than later’. He shared equally in creating this disaster and he owes our armed forces his best efforts to resolve it. There is no reason that Leader Reid can’t bring a solution of his choice to the Senate Floor and pass it next week. In a resulting conference committee I am sure we can find common ground. Senator Reid is right about something else, in defense of our men and women in uniform I am guilty of ideological extremism. I believe that it is morally wrong to hold the interests of these brave Americans as political hostages to a domestic agenda that cannot otherwise pass. While the House made tough choices and acted to resolve the first year of sequestration, Senator Reid has seen fit only to posture and preen. That is unworthy of his office, of his constituents, and of the fine deliberative traditions in the Senate. It is time for him to get to work.”