Bush Losing Support of GOP Lawmakers in Tight Races
By John Cranford and Rachel Bloom, CQ Staff
Republicans in Congress began edging away from President Bush and his policies last year, but a close look at voting patterns on Capitol Hill so far in 2008 shows GOP lawmakers breaking into a run.
Senators and House members from both parties have opposed the president far more often than at any other time since he’s been in the White House, and the erosion in support is dramatic among Republicans.
Until last year, Bush had historically high support scores among Republicans: No GOP president had done as well among fellow party members since 1953, when Congressional Quarterly began tabulating these things. Not even Ronald Reagan could boast of Bush’s degree of support.
GOP House members voted Bush’s way between 80 percent and 89 percent of the time on roll calls where he took a clear position during his first six years. Among Republican senators, his average support score had been even higher, reaching 94 percent twice, in 2001 and 2003.
In both chambers, Bush’s support faded a bit in 2007, but this year it has fallen through the floor. The average House Republican supported him just 63 percent of the time in 2008, and the average GOP senator, 68 percent.
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