In contrast with the absolutely strained rationales supporting Dysmal Durbin’s claims, Bill Frist is calling for Durbin to apologize – for real this time.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist yesterday demanded that Sen. Richard J. Durbin make a “formal apology” on the floor of the Senate for comparing U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay to Nazi and Soviet regimes and that he strike his remarks from the Congressional Record.

In a letter to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Mr. Frist, Tennessee Republican, said previous bids by the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat to clarify his remarks didn’t go far enough.

“Subsequent statements by Senator Durbin indicate only that he was regretful if people misunderstood his remarks,” Mr. Frist said. “We do not believe his remarks were misunderstood.”

The soon to be next, ex-democratic senate leader Harry Reid had this to say:

Reid spokesman Jim Manley called the Frist letter “pathetic.”

Standing up for our brave military men and women against erroneous, slanderous attacks is pathetic? Equating violent, murderous terrorists to the millions of women and children killed by the Nazis in places like Auschwitz – simpy for political points – is pathetic, sir.

UPDATE:

Ed Morrissey chimes in on this as well. Money quote from Morrissey:

It points out an odd set of priorities for the leader of the Democratic Party in the Senate — he gets more offended by a letter than he does with his deputy calling American servicemen murderous thugs

Exactly.