WASHINGTON — Conflicts are multiplying between congressional Republican moderates and the White House as President Bush pursues his aggressively conservative second-term agenda.
The unexpected resistance to Bush's nomination of John R. Bolton as U.N. ambassador from several Senate Republicans marks the latest, and potentially most intense, clash. But battles over Social Security, Bush's budget proposal and ending the filibuster for judicial nominations also are raising tensions inside the party.
The divisions do not appear as pronounced as the ideological divides among Democrats during Bill Clinton's presidency. But GOP moderates, especially in the Senate, seem more willing to challenge the administration than during Bush's first term, which was characterized by historic levels of party unity.
"A lot of the moderates were willing to give the president the benefit of the doubt prior to the election, but now that he's no longer going to be on the ballot, they are putting their own interest somewhat before the White House's," said Marshall Wittmann, a former GOP Senate aide who is an official at the Democratic Leadership Council, a centrist party group.
A senior White House official said the recent discord reflected the issues Bush was pushing, rather than diminishing presidential clout.
"I wouldn't look at it as 'It's every man for himself' because the president has just been reelected. I just think it's a different issue environment and these are tougher issues," said the official, who requested anonymity. "It's not hard for a Republican to support a tax cut. But we are getting into issues that are tougher."
Bush and GOP leaders could pressure enough moderates to prevail on most key issues. During the president's first term, the moderates often seemed to speak loudly and carry a small stick, voting for key administration proposals, such as tax cuts, after raising early objections.
Also, Bush's sky-high job approval ratings among rank-and-file Republicans and his record of helping the GOP gain congressional seats in 2002 and 2004 encourage party discipline.
"Those are very powerful hooks that will keep the Republican caucus more together than apart," said GOP pollster Bill McInturff.
Yet more turbulence within the party was the last thing most Republicans expected after they expanded their House and Senate majorities in last year's election.
