During his appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday, Cal Thomas cracked that MSNBC host Rachel Maddow “is the best argument in favor of her parents using contraception. I would be all for that. And all of the rest of the crowd at MSNBC, too, for that matter” (h/t Think Progress).

Maddow responded to Thomas' comment on her show Thursday night: “Mr. Fox News person speaking there, I am sorry that you feel that way about me, that you wish I had never been born. Personally, I'm glad that you were born. Otherwise, how would Republicans get the special Fox News bat signal that it's time to be outraged now, about what used to be Republicans' own policy idea?”

In addition to being a syndicated columnist, Thomas is a regular panelist on Fox News' “media criticism” show, Fox News Watch. In 2012, he has appeared on the January 14, January 28, and February 4 editions of the weekly show.

Thomas' comment was so offensive that at least one of his Fox News co-workers has called for him to apologize. On her Gretawire blog, Fox News host Greta Van Susteren wrote: “Cal Thomas needs to pick up the phone and make a personal call to Rachel Maddow. Then he needs to publicly apologize.”

Does Van Susteren's criticism portend Fox News itself sanctioning Thomas for his ugly remarks about Maddow? We shall see.