For a long time I’ve wondered what the Log Cabin Republicans were all about. (They are a LGBT advocacy group within the Republican party.) What is their agenda? More precisely, how do they fit within the Republican party?

I did some research today, and have a better understanding of them now. They occupy the center of the Republican party when it comes to just about everything: economics, foreign relations, smaller government, less regulation, Federalism and the like. They also believe that they are not far from the center of the Republican party when it comes to LGBT issues, and they make a reasonable case for that belief.

In an op-ed piece published in the New York Times (Pro-Family Need Not Be Anti-Gay), Log Cabin executive director R. Clarke Cooper argues that his group is more family oriented and conservative on the issue of marriage than many of the organizations that are trying to ban same-sex unions. After all, he points out, his organization is fighting for marriage and the right to form families.

Unfortunately for the Log Cabin Republicans, it’s pretty hard to find the center of the Republican party when it comes to social issues. If you read their (the LCR) press releases and op-ed pieces, you can get an idea of their dilemma. They point out that the various national Republican organizations, such as the RNC, are not anti-gay. (They also aren’t exactly advocates, either: their support manifests itself mostly by their silence.) They also take great pride and comfort from the fact that some Republicans and Republican-appointed judges do side with their goals. (See specifically Republican-Appointed Judges Again Strike Down DOMA as Anti-Federalist and Unconstitutional.) I don’t blame them.

Their problem is that, as usual, the most extreme views are being shouted the loudest. The Log Cabin Republicans are trying their best to support Romney while lamenting the forces that are pulling him towards social values purity (Republicans: Campaigning Against Marriage is a Losing Strategy).

Ultimately, either the Republican Party will tell its fringe to stuff a sock in it or the LCR will have to decide how many kicks in the teeth it can stand.