Talking Points Memo has reported an exchange in which Sen. Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, defended the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC by comparing it to the decision to desegregate American schools in Brown v. Board of Education.

Michael B. Keegan, President of People For the American Way, responded:

“Senator Sessions has compared Citizens United with Brown v. Board on judicial and moral grounds—both ridiculous claims. While Brown v. Board ended the systematic segregation of American schools, Citizens United ended restrictions on how much money corporations could spend on elections. These are not equivalent injustices; in fact, one is not an injustice at all.  

“The inappropriate comparison to Citizens United aside, I’m happy that Senator Sessions agrees with the decision in Brown v. Board. It would now be appropriate for him to stop attacking Thurgood Marshall—whose leadership in Brown cemented his status as a civil rights hero—and the philosophy of constitutional interpretation that led to the landmark verdict.”

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