Exactly. The WSJ op ed page had a column on this today that made that very point. You may want to hunt it down if you haven't already seen it. You are right-- had the Republicans pursued this any more than they did, I can just see the Washington Post/NYT headlines: "Sexual McCarthyism: For Gay Republicans, Suspicion and Homophobia are the Order of the Day."
Thanks for the heads up, GraceCoolidge, I'll check it out at WSJ.