Fellow Democrats give Obama heartburn on healthcare

A House group of Democratic fiscal conservatives put the brakes for now on Obama's top domestic priority in a fight over how to curb rising costs, sparking a sharp and highly visible party feud on Friday.

In the Senate, a key Democrat said on Sunday there are still not enough Democratic votes to ensure passage and more closed-door negotiations will be needed to woo support from at least a few Republicans.

Both chambers of Congress have big Democratic majorities, but Obama has learned that is not enough.

"A big majority is a diverse majority, and Democrats do not have the ideological homogeneity to just march in lock step with the president," said Steven Schier, a political analyst at Carleton College in Minnesota.

Representative James Clyburn, the third-ranking Democrat in the House leadership, said the Democratic majority had caucuses representing blacks, women, liberals, conservatives and a variety of views.

"We expect that inside our caucus we will have these kinds of passions being on display on a regular basis," he said.

Read more...