Never did him any harm? Perhaps not immediately, but it will be what he goes down in history for. Hardly the epitaph he hopes for, I think.

Ah, but you proceed from a false premise, that there is a single standard, as opposed to “It’s OK If You’re A Republican”.

Durbin’s sin was not the Gulag comparison itself, but applying it to a US-run prison – as opposed to such thoroughly acceptable targets as feminists (recall the expression “feminazis”) or liberal college professors.

Remember the “VCR == Boston Strangler”! I don’t see that that speech ever did Jack Valenti any harm.

I take your point, Ed. My basic point though was this: having just witnessed the Durbin fiasco, I would think that we’d all be hyper-aware that care is required when making comparisons to gulags and such. Use of the term should not be taken lightly.

I agree with everything you wrote EXCEPT for the inappropriate reference to Sen. Durbin’s remarks. Let’s be clear: Sen. Durbin was referring to an actual prison camp run by the United States Government which is credibly alleged by the FBI and other sources to have engaged in actual torture. The prisoners in that camp have been spirited away with no due process and still have only the most limited access to the rights we as a society cherish. Stalin’s gulags may have been on a much grander scale, but the behavior is repulsive and disgusting.

By contrast, Delong is talking about the rights of creative people to get a check. This is clearly an inappropriate use of the term “gulag” and he should be called on it.

Please, though, don’t create a false equivalency with Sen. Durbin’s remarks. His political opponents may have done a masterful job of fogging the story and distracting attention from their offenses, but there’s still a legitimate story there.