Republicans tense as voter disillusionment sets in

EMMAUS, Pa. -- The buzzing of 150 friends and neighbors quieted as Kathleen Miller told them about her older son, a Marine who was injured in Iraq, and her younger son, who is in the Army and has orders to go there in October.

"I am afraid," Miller said. "That's why we need Bob Casey, so he can join a Democratic Congress and help find a solution to this war."

Miller, a Democratic activist, delivered her stark message in a wood-and-brick barn decked with balloons, sparkly white lights and Casey himself. The state treasurer, son of the late governor Bob Casey, had a double-digit lead over two-term Republican Sen. Rick Santorum in a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll last week.

Iraq is one of several tides running against GOP candidates, driving away independent voters and some party faithful. Except for Missouri, independent voters in five Senate races polled by USA TODAY were swinging toward the Democrat. Party loyalty was stronger among Democrats than Republicans in every state but Ohio.

President Bush's anemic job approval, underscored this week by the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, is a drag on Republicans almost everywhere. His rating hasn't risen above 42% in six months. Other problems facing Republicans:

*Corruption and ethics. The climate is particularly troubled for Ohio Republicans. Gov. Bob Taft last year pleaded no contest to charges that he violated state ethics laws. Rep. Bob Ney, under investigation for his ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, said he would not seek re-election. Even Sen. Mike DeWine, not entangled in either scandal, says the issue hurts him.

In Montana, Sen. Conrad Burns was the top recipient of campaign donations from Abramoff, his clients and political allies. "Ethics is the issue" in the race, says political scientist James Lopach of the University of Montana. He says Burns is helped by his "folksy, agricultural, working-person" persona, but says Democrat Jon Tester, a farmer, is a strong challenger: "He also symbolizes what a lot of Montanans think of themselves -- close to the land, hard-working, straightforward."

*Social issues. Some conservatives press views that are unpopular with a majority of Americans. Santorum, the No. 3 Senate Republican, is a national spokesman on cultural issues and helped lead last year's drive for congressional intervention in the Terri Schiavo case. He called court decisions allowing removal of the Florida woman's feeding tube "unconscionable."

In Missouri, voters will decide this fall whether to amend their constitution to protect embryonic stem cell research and ban human cloning. The initiative has thrust stem cell research, which has broad support in polls, into the forefront of the Senate race.

Democratic challenger Claire McCaskill has championed the cause. GOP Sen. Jim Talent opposes the initiative but says voters should reach their own decisions about a "very difficult moral issue."

Stem cell research divides business-oriented Republicans from the party's social conservatives, says political scientist Michael Minta of Washington University in St. Louis: "It's a dilemma" for the GOP...

•	Republicans tense as voter disillusionment sets in USA Today, Friday, Sept. 1, 2006 Byline: Jill Lawrence and Susan Page