Sen. John McCain, a champion of campaign finance reform, slammed the rise of super-PACs in the 2012 presidential election, calling them "terrible" Thursday in an interview with CBS News.
"Citizens United — you can put the responsibility right at the doorstep of the Supreme Court, incredible naivety, ignorance of the real world of politics … it was outrageous, it was outrageous," said the Arizona Republican.
In the controversial 2010
Citizens United decision, the Supreme Court ruled that government limits on corporate funding of political broadcasts for or against individual candidates violate the rights to free speech guaranteed under the Constitution.
The ruling effectively undid certain provisions of the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law, a bill co-sponsored by McCain to prevent a deluge of corporate money in elections.
McCain predicated there will be "huge scandals" associated with the influx of money into political campaigns from the political action committees (PACs).
Super-PACs operate independently of campaigns; however, many are funded or run by people with close connections to the candidate it supports.
McCain also lambasted the increased importance of super-PACs, saying they have diminished the role of political parties in the United States.
"I tell you the ignorance of the realities of politics in America displayed in a 5-4 decision, was I think, one of the worst decisions that I've ever seen," he said.
Most of the GOP presidential candidates have had the support of a super-PAC dedicated to helping them win the nomination, and McCain's chosen candidate is no exception.
The group, Restore Our Future, a super-PAC supporting Mitt Romney, has spent millions of dollars in ads on behalf of the former Massachusetts governor.
McCain announced his
endorsement of Romney last week in New Hampshire. The Arizona senator did not specifically address Romney's super-PAC support in the CBS interview.
