GOP unity splintering?

Janet Hook in the LATimes:

Bush and a disciplined GOP Congress racked up many legislative accomplishments in the first six months of his second term, including an overhaul of the bankruptcy code, limits on class-action lawsuits, a new energy policy, a big highway bill and a major trade agreement.
Congress adjourned for its August recess on a high note, feeling that lawmakers had bolstered the GOP image as a can-do, competent party that could govern.
That image took a beating this summer as gas prices soared, violence continued in Iraq and the government seemed slow to respond to Hurricane Katrina.
The results were not pretty. A recent survey by Republican polling firm Public Opinion Strategies found that people who said Bush was good at handling a crisis dropped from 56% in January to 41% in September.
The centrifugal forces within the party intensified as Bush's ratings sank. Republicans freely joined criticism of the administration's initial response to Katrina. They now seem emboldened to speak their minds on other issues, as well.

Unfortunately for Republicans, corrupt ideologues still dominate their leadership and the moderates among their caucus are completely marginalized. Bush is dragging them all down with him.