Look up "race-baiting" in the dictionary and this new ad from Louisiana Sen. David Vitter is what you’ll find.

When the ad came out a week ago, lefty blogs called it "the most amazing," Republican ad on immigration–as in, amazingly bold in its garishness. Since then, Latino groups around the country have voiced their outrage, and said that even in an election season when anti-immigrant slurs and scapegoating is de rigueur, the ad had gone too far.

"I think like most politicians you can kind of galvanize a support base around hate, really. I mean he’s demonizing Latinos for his own political gain," Latino community leader Vincent Perez told Louisiana television station KSLA. Latino advocacy groups like Puentes and the local Hispanic Chamber of Commerce have demanded an apology from Vitter. They want the ad pulled from the airwaves.

When it comes to their official policy positions, Vitter and his challenger Charlie Melancon may not be too far from each other. KSLA points out that the far-right anti-immigrant group NumbersUSA gave both Vitter and Melancon a solid B- on immigration. But hey, who can be bothered with facts when feeding into nasty stereotypes are so much more shocking?