Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s office expressed disgust with the stomach-turning Sacramento Bee cartoon ” that used the tragic deaths of 14 Americans to take a tasteless swipe at the governor. As Twitchy reported on Friday, cartoonist Jack Ohman said he depicted Perry watching the deadly West, Texas, fertilizer plant explosion next to a “Low Regs” flag to “make a point.”

The Bee published a letter from Perry that said, “I won’t stand for someone mocking the tragic deaths of my fellow Texans and our fellow Americans.” He continued:

Additionally, publishing this on the very day our state and nation paused to honor and mourn those who died only compounds the pain and suffering of the many Texans who lost family and friends in this disaster. The Bee owes the community of West, Texas an immediate apology for your detestable attempt at satire.

So, did Sacramento Bee editorial editor Stuart Leavenworth apologize?

Gov. Rick Perry tries to distract people from Texas safety issues by going after cartoonist Ohman, and my response. http://t.co/WFn1G5grCN — SacBeeEditorialBoard (@SacBeeEditBoard) April 27, 2013

Of course not.

https://twitter.com/Jordan_Gurnett/status/327940040229531649

That’s right, he doubled down on the message that Gov. Perry is responsible for the deadly West, Texas, explosion.

What he finds offensive is a governor who would gamble with the lives of families by not pushing for the strongest safety regulations. Perry’s letter is an attempt to distract people from that message.

Perhaps worse, he played the victim on behalf of the cartoonist.

Yes, a Texas governor is beating up on a cartoonist instead of taking some responsibility. shocking. http://t.co/2EFusbTkPe — SacBeeEditorialBoard (@SacBeeEditBoard) April 27, 2013

Quit beating up on our delicate flower! He’s got tragedies to politicize and that’s damn near impossible when the fragile dear is swooning onto his fainting couch.

The West, Texas, explosion killed 14 people, many of them first responders, but a cartoonist is the victim.

As Perry wrote, detestable.