Dan,
Despite my skilled cynicism, even I would never have guessed "Republican" for that adjective. That is impressive. It seems to be a common strategy to make comparisons like this, in order to undermine the credibility or value of an opposing view. No matter that the comparisons are often ludicrous and position as similar, people or events of staggeringly different magnitudes
Bush is like Hitler
Iraq is just like Vietnam
etc.
Just this morning, Christiane Amanpour was discussing the tragedy in Myanmar. 100,000+ people may wind up dead, in part because the oppressive ruling regime refuses to grant visas and allow aid workers and basic necessities across the border. At every level, it is a tragic, shocking and infuriating situation. However, how did Ms. Amanpour choose to describe it? This is not an exact quote, but I have it pretty close
"The situation is reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina, where an inept governmental response serves to worsen an already dire situation."
Huh? Is refusing entry to aid workers and willfully allowing the exposure and death of tens of thousands of citizens really comparable to what happened after Katrina? Is that really a reasonable comparison?
By the way, the Left and Right are both good at this trick, although the Left seems to have a longer list of enemies and offenders to which they can draw comparisons. Also, it is not really a fair fight. The people that the Right really hates, are often beloved by the Left. If you try to belittle someone by comparing them to Jane Fonda or Noam Chomsky, a true leftist will just look at you quizzically. Meanwhile, nobody is confused if you compare a guy to Hitler.
Anyway, I have probably strayed far enough from GCA. The China quote and this morning's CNN report just struck the same chord with me.