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NEW YORK - Republicans might be unanimous in renominating President Bush for a second term and particularly enthusiastic about his leadership of the war on terrorism, but they are deeply split over other parts of his agenda.

Moderates attending the Republican National Convention complain openly about the party's Bush-led stand against gay marriage, his restrictions on medical research using embryonic stem cells and his easing of regulations protecting the environment.

While hardly new to the party, the disagreements were more prominent than usual at this convention and suggest divisions that could pull at the party for years to come.

Indeed, if it's the war on terrorism that unifies Republicans, party members might wonder what will happen in coming years if and when the war on terrorism fades from the headlines and ceases to dominate public life.

''This is the height of the Roman Empire for us,'' said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Graham, a conservative who helped lead the impeachment of former President Clinton, said he fears his party is too dismissive of moderates and too unappealing to minorities to maintain majority status much longer.

''We've got to get conservatives to be more accepting of moderates,'' he said. ''The winning combination is Republicans who can sell conservative philosophy to a wider audience, showing acceptance to moderates.''

That hardly has been the case at the convention this week.

Gay Republicans complained that the party platform adopted Monday is tougher on them than ever, by opposing not only gay marriage but also civil unions.

''This is bigger than one platform. It is bigger than one convention. It is even bigger than one president. This is a fight for the heart and soul of the Republican Party,'' said Patrick Guerriero, the executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay group.

Also this week, a group of Republicans, including former senators and governors, urged the party to support more medical research using embryonic stem cells, tighter restrictions on federal spending and a more pro-environment stand.

''Instead of partisan ideology, which increasingly has led moderates to leave the party, what's needed is a speedy return to the pragmatic, problem-solving mainstream,'' the group said in a newspaper ad published in New York.

The group, called Mainstream 2004, included former Govs. David Cargo of New Mexico, Dan Evans of Washington, A. Linwood Holton of Virginia, William Milliken of Michigan and Walter Peterson of New Hampshire, and former Sens. Charles Mathias of Maryland and Robert Stafford of Vermont.

Carla Halbrook, a moderate Republican from Dallas who was attending the convention with the Log Cabin Republicans, said the ''future of my party is at stake here.'' But she refused to say whether she would vote against Bush. And asked why she was a Republican, she pointed to other issues.

''I believe in the core principles of the party, which in my mind are a strong national defense, free trade, low taxes and personal responsibility,'' she said.

That's precisely the hope of the Bush campaign and many conservatives.

''There's always the usual griping,'' said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. ''But we all agree on the unifying principles of the party. National defense, lower taxes, eliminating big government. . . . This is a party that has room for everyone.''