G.O.P. Ranks in Congress Show Widening Cracks - NYT

[stop the bleeding]

By CARL HULSE
Published: March 9, 2006

WASHINGTON, March 8 — After more than five years of allowing President Bush relatively free rein to set their course, Republicans in Congress are suddenly, if selectively, in rebellion, a mutiny all the more surprising since it centers on the party's signature issue of national security.

In a rebuke to the White House, House Republicans are moving aggressively to put the brakes on the takeover by a Dubai company of some port terminal operations in several large American cities, an effort that moved forward on Wednesday with broad bipartisan support.


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"If there was ever a good time for Congress to figure out oversight, it would be in the sixth year of a presidency," said Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri, the No. 3 House Republican, well aware that the party in power typically loses seats at the midpoint of a president's second term.

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One thing is clear: Republicans on Capitol Hill are no longer entrusting security issues solely to Mr. Bush. They now realize that in some cases, they must protect themselves.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/09/politics/09assess.html?hp&ex=1141880400&en=63bf2918d563ea39&ei=5094&partner=homepage