Rep. Luis Gutierrez on Thursday blamed the Republican Party for waging a demagogic campaign that has renewed racial strife in America, and for bringing “Hitler salutes” back into the mainstream.

“[O]ut on the campaign trail, on immigration, we get lots of demagoguery from the majority,” the Illinois Democrat charged on the House floor. “The debate has sunk to a level where people are actually throwing punches, and worse.”