Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) isn’t a fan of the 2010 Citizens United campaign finance ruling. He dislikes it so much that he recently compared it the Dred Scott v. Sandford ruling that upheld slavery.
The Congressman blasted the 2010 Citizens United ruling, a decision that prevented the government from limiting independent political expenditures from unions and corporations, at a fundraiser in Massachusetts on Tuesday while campaigning to fill Secretary of State John Kerry’s seat in the U.S. Senate, BuzzFeed reports.
“I want to go to the United States Senate in order to fight for a constitutional amendment to repeal Citizens United,” Markey reportedly said. “The whole idea that the Koch brothers, that Karl Rove can say we’re coming to Massachusetts, we’re coming to any state of the union with undisclosed amounts of money is a pollution that must be changed. And the Constitution must be amended. The Constitution must be amended. The Dred Scott decision had to be repealed; we have to repeal Citizens United.”
Republicans have lashed out against Markey, criticizing his comparison between the Dred Scott and Citizens United cases.
“Agree or disagree with federal campaign finance law, it’s ridiculous and offensive to compare it to the horror of slavery,” Brad Dayspring, communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told the Washington Free Beacon. “If Ed Markey really believes this to be the modern equivalent to slavery, he’ll quickly return the millions that he’s raised from PACs over his career.”
Markey has accumulated $2.5 million in campaign funds from PACs during since 1989, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Yet, some of Markey’s supporters are reminding his Republican critics that former GOP vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) once invoked the 1857 Dred Scott decision, as well. He compared the ruling to legalizing abortion in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
If Rep. Markey wants to win John Kerry’s empty seat in the Senate, then he might want to stop comparing campaign finance laws to slavery.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK_nOjMU3kk&w=560&h=315]
