Obamacare fight sparks jump in political fundraising

Night falls over U.S. Capitol Dome, as members of Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives deal with budget showdown with Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate, and possible government shutdown in WashingtonBy Gabriel Debenedetti WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The budget and debt standoff in Washington that led to a U.S. government shutdown this month was a fundraising boon for Democratic groups, which had one of their most lucrative months of the year. But the Republicans' push to hold up government funding to try to delay or defund Democratic President Barack Obama's healthcare law also apparently paid off for independent conservative groups, which raked in millions of dollars in the two months before the partial shutdown of the U.S. government began on October 1. …