GOP's Unified Front Is Reduced to a Veneer
Those in Congress are increasingly inclined to openly disagree with Bush -- and each other.
By Janet Hook, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — In the disciplined world of George W. Bush's presidency, Republicans for years have shunned open criticism of the White House, fearful of a call to the woodshed from an administration that prizes loyalty.
So it was a striking departure when Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania — a high-ranking party official and a stalwart Bush ally — recently lambasted the administration's handling of this year's Social Security debate. It was even more striking that his office e-mailed the news far and wide with a subject line boasting: "Santorum takes Bush to task over Social Security strategy."
That was an emblem of the wobbly state of what was a cornerstone of Bush's first-term accomplishments: the confident, nearly lock-step unity of his party in Congress.
Now, every day seems to bring a new brawl among Republicans as divisions between factions proliferate....
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gop2oct02,0,6168744.story?coll=la-tot-promo&track=morenews