Rep. Ed Markey (D., Mass.), who is running to replace recently appointed Secretary of State John Kerry in the Senate, compared the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision to the 1858 decision to uphold slavery, according to BuzzFeed.
Markey made reference to the Koch brothers and Karl Rove spending undisclosed amounts of money before saying, "The constitution must be amended. The Dred Scott decision had to be repealed, we have to repeal Citizens United."
BuzzFeed notes Markey has accepted more than $2.5 million from business, labor, and ideological PACs since 1989, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Critics are challenging Markey’s hypocrisy.
"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 of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told the Free Beacon. "Out-of-touch statements like these simply reinforce the fact that Ed Markey has been hibernating in Washington back rooms since Carlton Fisk was behind the plate for the Red Sox and disco ruled the world. 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."
Update: Video of Markey's comments via BuzzFeed: