Extreme Disgust and Disappointment': Rick Perry Fires Back at Paper That Mocked Deadly Fertilizer Plant Explosion

Paper stands by the cartoon: "What [the cartoonist] finds offensive is a governor who would gamble with the lives of families by not pushing for the strongest safety regulations..."

(Sacramento Bee)

On Friday, TheBlaze brought to your attention a "shocking" cartoon in the Sacramento Bee that politicized the recent Texas fertilizer plant explosion that killed 14 and injured many more.

The drawing depicts Texas Governor Rick Perry saying "Business is booming in Texas!" in front of a sign saying "Low Tax!" and "Low Regs!". To the right is a presumed depiction of the explosion, a flag reading "Low Regs" flying out of the chaos.

In a letter to the Bee's editor, Perry said it "was with extreme disgust and disappointment I viewed your recent cartoon."

"While I will always welcome healthy policy debate, I won't stand for someone mocking the tragic deaths of my fellow Texans and our fellow Americans," Perry wrote. "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."

But the Bee's editorial page editor, Stuart Leavenworth, stands by the decision of the artist, Jack Ohman. He said the cartoonist "made a strong statement about Gov. Rick Perry's disregard for worker safety, and his attempts to market Texas a place where industries can thrive with few regulations."

Taking it a step further, he continued: "It is unfortunate that Gov. Perry, and some on the blogosphere, have attempted to interpret the cartoon as being disrespectful for the victims of this tragedy...As Ohman has made clear on his blog, he has complete empathy for the victims and people living by the plant.

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

The April 17 explosion in the town of West, which is outside Waco, left a crater more than 90 feet wide and is estimated to have caused more than $100 million in damage. The blast occurred moments after a fire was reported at the West Fertilizer plant.

Ten of the people killed were first responders who rushed to the nighttime blaze.

Ohman, the cartoonist, said that he has received "varying levels of concern about the cartoon depicting Gov. Rick Perry's marketing of Texas' loose regulations, juxtaposed with the explosion of the fertilizer plant in West, Texas," but that he would draw the cartoon again without thinking twice.

CNN has more on the story:

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(H/T: Gateway Pundit)