Illinois Republican Party chairman Pat Brady went out on a limb last month when he came out in support of legislation aiming to bring same-sex marriage to the Land of Lincoln. And now it appears he’s facing some serious backlash for it.
Saying he was “shocked” by Brady’s comment that the right to marry honors “the best conservative principles,” state Sen. Jim Oberweis is one of a group of Republicans asking for the chair to resign.
In Illinois, a party chairman can be axed with a three-fifths majority from committee members, whose voted are weighed based on the size of their district. Four members told WBEZ they’ve asked Brady to step down. Combined, those members equal nearly half of the votes needed to boot him out. “I can only express my disappointment in the way this has come about and the manner in which the Republican platform of Illinois has been completely disregarded,” committee member Gene Dawson explained in an email.
But Brady won’t go without a fight: “If people want to throw me out because I took a stand on an issue of discrimination… then that’s up to them and they’re free to do it,” Brady told the Chicago Sun-Times. “But I’m not backing down.”
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Dakotahgeo
Unruly Republicans/TPods/conservatives, like pit bulls/associated unmanageable dog breeds need to be outlawed and kenneled. And neutered.
vklortho
I dream of a day when the disagreement between parties comes down to mostly economics and possibly foreign policy issues. Even though I’m pretty liberal, I think LGBT people should have more than one mainstream party they can vote for without feeling they are voting against themselves and currently that is not the case. 🙁
1EqualityUSA
Stay strong, Pat Brady, hate is ugly.
Sohobod
Only in America…
Cam
Rather than saying he supported Marriage equality, you could just as easily say that he is facing backlash because he opposed bigotry.
That puts the rest of the party into even more clarity.
Avenger
If you’re gonna support gay marriage you may as well just be a democrat. The whole concept of supporting something like gay marriage is a contradiction if you’re a Republican, basically makes you a phony and calls into question your real intentions and true allegiance. Just jump ship and call yourself a dem Brady. A true republican you aren’t.
1EqualityUSA
after the GOP loses a few more elections, they’ll magically transition out of bigotry and make it a Republican value to include us in the American fabric.