The Republicans have never had, in their story - conservatives, either, have never had. . . I'm talking this in a media context, now. They've never had an agenda or a story that the media would like them to have.
I grew up feeling that to be gay was a tragedy. I didn't grow up thinking that it was morally wrong, but I grew up thinking that it would make me marginal, prevent me from having children, and quite possibly prevent me from having a meaningful long relationship. It seemed that this condition would leave me with a vastly reduced life.