House Democrats to Obama: Go Ahead, Do the Amnesty

This morning's news that the White House would prevent up to five million undocumented immigrants from deportation scrambled the politics of support and opposition. For weeks, conservatives in both Houses had been promising to use every potential lever to block such a move. That had led to a conventional wisdom that the White House would act after this December's continuing resolution cleared Congress's itinerary for a few months, and after Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu won or lost her Dec. 6 runoff.

Congress was slow to adjust to its new reality. In an interview with CNN's Ted Barrett, outgoing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid suggested that the White House was monkeying with the gears. "I'd like to get the finances of this country out of the way before he does it," he said.