The Private Pain of the Gay Republican - The NYT Magazine profiles the men and women (well, mostly men) of the Log Cabins, America's oldest gay conservative movement, and their now highly public dispute with the president over the FMA. In exposing the shadowy world of GOP homosexuality, the Times takes a moment to explain an aspect of Washington life that those of us who live here have long understood:

What people from outside political Washington may not fully realize is the extent to which gay and lesbian staff members populate offices in the executive branch and Congress -- and by no means just on the Democratic side. ''The perception outside the Beltway would be that if there are gay staff members, they must work on Barney Frank's or Teddy Kennedy's staff,'' said Christopher Barron, Log Cabin's political director. ''The reality is there are gay men and women working in tons of Republican offices, in the White House and in the president's re-election campaign.''

Or as DC council member (and former Bushie) David Catania exclaims, "oh, my God, this town could not function without the gays and lesbians who by and large don't have responsibilities for children, who can work 80 hours and who sacrifice everything on behalf of their careers.'' Um, duh. We all know the velvet mafia runs the Hill.

Now these folks are on the horns of a dilemma -- deeply devoted to a party whose leader, at least, has forsaken them to shore up support among the bigot brigade. Somewhat surprisingly, the Times' author appears largely sympathetic to their plight. Personally, I am too. As a fairly conservative guy, I could easily see myself in those shoes - but I drew the line at swearing allegiance to any political party. Which gives me the ability, unlike the LCR, to say Bush is a schmuck when it's true.