The Wisconsin congressman with national ambitions has apparently evolved, and I don't think that bodes well for the hierarchy's efforts on these issues. From Roll Call:

In a town hall meeting with constituents in Wisconsin on Monday, the House Budget Committee chairman said he has changed his mind on the adoption issue, even though his opinions on other aspects of gay rights have remained unchanged......Adoption, Id vote differently these days. That was I think a vote I took in my first term, 1999 or 2000. I do believe that if there are children who are orphans who do not have a loving person or couple, I think if a person wants to love and raise a child they ought to be able to do that. Period, Ryan said in a video posted by the liberal website Think Progress. I would vote that way. I do believe marriage is between a man and a woman, we just respectfully disagree on that issue....In the past, Ryan has opposed almost every equality measure, getting a 0 on the Human Rights Campaigns most recent Congressional scorecard. He opposed the repeal of dont ask, dont tell, supported the Defense of Marriage Act and voted against the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Protection Act, which expanded federal hate crime laws to protect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.In his remarks Monday, Ryan said he has always supported civil unions. Though there is no evidence to support that, its a clear sign that the politics of the issue have changed and that even the most conservative Republicans need to appear more hospitable to gays and lesbians in order to expand their voting bloc.

So if you lose Paul Ryan, who's next? Then again, a lot of Catholics said he'd lost them with his Randian version of subsidiarity.