Forget feuding with Democrats — ex-Illinois Congressman and tea party-favorite Joe Walsh can't seem to stop sparring with leaders of his own party.
After waging a public battle with party leader Karl Rove, Walsh — who totally buried the lede on this one — renewed his call Friday for Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady to exit his leadership post.
Walsh essentially blamed the marriage equality-supporting party leader for the "demoralized" Republican base in Illinois and claimed, "We cannot have a party chairman who publicly gives his backhand to the party platform and supports same sex marriage."
As supporters were trying to pass a marriage equality bill during the state's January lame-duck session, Brady called on his fellow Republicans to support the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act though he was careful to note his call came as a citizen and not as part of his official role with the Illinois Republican Party.
Despite the fact that the bill never reached a vote before the session ended, the show of support initially opened Brady up to of attacks by his fellow Republicans, like state central committeewoman Bobbie Peterson who called the chairman "a total disgrace."
By the following month, however, the short-lived outrage had died down so much that no one in the party wanted to bother with doing anything about Brady's "insubordination;" Crain's Chicago Business reported Sen. Jim Oberweis, who had publicly clucked at Brady's gay marriage backing, couldn't even get the five signed notices by State Central Committee directors needed to call a meeting to even discuss the Brady issue.
Walsh, who has found no shortage of windmills as which to tilt, called the state GOP's willingness to compromise with lawmakers on the other side of the aise a "cowardly arrangement to cede control of this state to the Democrats."
Apart from flamethrowing, Walsh may have another motive: In January, conservative blog Illinois Review speculated Walsh was possibly eyeing the state GOP chairmanship for himself.
Meanwhile, the marriage equality bill has since cleared a state Senate vote in Illinois and will next be considered by a House committee on Feb. 26.
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