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Two Illinois Republicans are finding out that for all the talk nationally of the GOP becoming more inclusive and appealing to voters by softening stances on social issues, it’s difficult to actually follow through.

The state Republican Party’s central committee will meet Saturday to consider firing chairman Pat Brady, largely because he spoke out in favor of a bill to end Illinois’ ban on gay marriage. And the only Republican state senator to vote in favor of same-sex marriage, Sen. Jason Barickman, has been chastised by his colleagues and a national organization opposing the measure.

Brady and Barickman say they’ve heard from hundreds of people since taking their positions earlier this year some were thankful, others excoriated them. A conservative organization even posted Brady’s cellphone number online and his voicemail quickly filled up while on vacation with words he said he “didn’t know were in the Bible.”

“This issue is not about me. It’s about the direction of the party going forward,” Brady said. “It just plays into a national narrative of the GOP as closed-minded.”

After a poor showing at the polls in November, national Republican party leaders vowed to work harder to attract more young, moderate and minority voters those who may be on board with the party fiscally speaking, but are turned off by the conservative views on social issues, such as immigration and gay rights.

Last month, more than 75 prominent Republicans, including four governors and advisers to former President George W. Bush, signed a legal brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down California’s ban on same-sex marriage. Former First Lady Laura Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney also support gay marriage.

But politicians who step out on the ledge in order to instigate change risk getting pushed off, as their actions raise the ire of social conservatives, the Republicans most likely to vote in primaries and have leadership posts.

Rep. Tom Cross, the top Republican in the Illinois House, called Brady’s possible firing “a big mistake.”

“We’re a party that prides itself and often talks about having a big tent approach. And if we’re going to be a party that grows … we need to acknowledge that … we’re not always going to agree with each other 100 percent,” Cross said. “To me, you can be for (gay marriage), or you can be against it. But we ought to say to ‘You have a place in this party.’”

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, the state’s ranking Republican lawmaker, also believes it would be “a mistake” to remove Brady, spokesman Lance Trover said Friday. Kirk voted to end the policy on gays serving in the military, known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and opposes a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

Read more from the original source:

GOP Chairman, Lawmaker Take Heat on Gay Marriage