Florida Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson's campaign sent out a fundraising email comparing the Tea Pary to the Ku Klux Klan, complete with an image of the Klan's signature burning cross.
The e-mail, which was delivered to supporters on Monday, shows a burning cross and images of two KKK-like figures in the background. The image is hyperlinked to a fundraising landing page for Grayson's campaign.
"Ask yourself this: Who else in American public life today is as honest and as blunt as this? Congressman Alan Grayson deserves your support, like no one else," reads the end of Grayson's message. "He, and only he, is saying the things that you are thinking, and so much need to be said."
The fundraising e-mail plays off a recent interview Grayson had with Al Sharpton on MSNBC after the federal government reopened following a 16-day shutdown. "The Tea Party is no more popular than the Klan," Grayson said in the interview, reports the Huffington Post.
In response, the National Republican Congressional Committee slammed Grayson's controversial e-mail and Klan comment.
"There's no excuse for the hateful words and imagery used by Congressman Grayson," said Matt Gorman, a spokesman for the House GOP campaign committee, in a statement, according to Politico. "House Democrats should swiftly and strongly condemn him and return the money he has raised for them. This hate-filled rhetoric has Americans fed up with Washington."
On Tuesday, Grayson doubled down on his comments, arguing that the Tea Party has used racist and insensitive terms and imagery to refer to African-Americans, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, and gays since the group's inception following the election of the first black president.
"[T]here is overwhelming evidence that the Tea Party is the home of bigotry and discrimination in America today, just as the KKK was for an earlier generation," Grayson said. "If the shoe fits, wear it."