Eli Lehrer at National Review Online wrote a nice piece about the new federal proposal to eliminate prison rape, to which Andrew Sullivan, to his credit, linked approvingly.  One of Lehrer’s points is that the subject of prison rape - in a nation which professes horror at all sorts of hazing practices that are called “torture” - remains funny rather than horrible:  “But, somehow, prison rape remains a perfectly acceptable topic for sitcoms, widely trafficked websites, and late-night comedians.”

Enter Jon Chait - who, with his usual urbanity, notes Sullivan’s cross-aisle admiration for Eli Lehrer’s piece by making the following little joke:  Hey, the National Review’s homophobia (by which Chait means its opposition to gay marriage) is based on its writers’ fear of being raped in prison, as thousands of prisoners are every year.

Well, maybe it’s the way he tells it.

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