House Speaker John Boehner

As House Speaker John Boehner tries to work with President Obama to prevent automatic tax increases and spending cuts, he is taking heat from members of his own party. Some conservatives think he gave up too much, too soon in his opening offer.

The president and House Republicans continued to snipe at each other Wednesday over the impending set of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts known as the fiscal cliff. President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner later spoke briefly by phone for the first time in a week, according to reports.