Free Republic

Ed Rollins is at it again. Mr. Rollins, the former campaign manager for Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, has questioned her ability to extend her campaign for the Republican presidential nomination beyond Iowa, the first state in the nation to hold a nominating contest. In an interview on MSNBC, Mr. Rollins told Andrea Mitchell that Mrs. Bachmann does not have the money or resources to compete with her better-financed rivals, like Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. “Right now, she’s competing hard in Iowa,” Mr. Rollins said. But, he added, “she doesn’t have the ability or resources to go beyond that,...

Ed Rollins, former campaign manager and current "informal adviser" to Rep. Michele Bachmann, told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell moments ago that Bachmann doesn't have the "ability or the resources" to go beyond Iowa. Rollins stopped working for the campaign day-to-day earlier this month in a staff shakeup, and criticized her comments on the HPV vaccine last week. Rollins said Texas Gov. Rick Perry's entrance into the race undercut her campaign, and that she was unprepared for the national stage running as a congresswoman.

Add Michele Bachmann's former campaign manager to those who believe the presidential candidate went too far in linking a cervical cancer vaccine to mental retardation. Ed Rollins, in an interview Wednesday evening on MSNBC, said Bachmann’s attacks on Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s mandatory vaccination program for young girls in Texas had been effective -- until she brought up the possibility of “dangerous side effects” in television interviews. “She’d had been better if she stayed on issue,” Rollins told Chris Matthews on “Hardball,” the issue was the governor’s executive orders, and whether he made a mistake. He made a mistake, she...

For a while there, Rep. Michele Bachmann seemed to be all anyone could talk about in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Telegenic, controversial and aligned with fiscal and social conservatives, she soaked up media coverage and seemed to be emerging as the GOP base's preferred alternative to Mitt Romney - particularly since Mike Huckabee decided to forgo the race and Sarah Palin continued waffling about whether she would jump in. Then came August 13. It was, in once sense, a triumphant day for Bachmann: She won the (albeit overhyped) Iowa straw poll, generating headlines about how she was...

Ed Rollins, campaign manager for Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann Presidential run announced that he is stepping back into an advisory role, citing health concerns, as word of his deputy manager, David Polyansky, is leaving the campaign as well. Rollins was on Anderson Cooper's AC360 show on CNN and admitted that the entrance of Rick Perry has "slowed our money down" into the Bachmann campaign and took momentum out of her campaign He also stated that it's legitimately a Romney/Perry race with them being the leaders in the poll and leaders in money and that Michelle Bachmann is the third person in...

Top-level staff departures from Michele Bachmann’s campaign are raising fresh questions about her durability heading into the post-Labor Day stretch of the 2012 presidential primary contest. As POLITICO first reported Sunday, her campaign manager Ed Rollins will be moving from day-to-day campaign managing to a senior advisory role. His deputy, David Polyansky, is leaving the campaign. Both played a critical role in vaulting Bachmann to a first place finish at the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa on Aug. 13, an event that served as the first critical test of organization in the first-caucus state and one where she eked out...

On the heels of our report that Michele Bachmann campaign manager Ed Rollins is stepping back into an advisory role, citing health concerns, comes word that his deputy, David Polyansky, is leaving the campaign. "I wish Michele nothing but the best, and anyone who underestimates her as a candidate does so at their own peril," Polyansky told POLITICO. Continue Reading But a GOP source familiar with the situation said that Polyansky had "strategic differences on the path forward" with the candidate, who has struggled to gain traction in the last few weeks. Polyansky and Rollins led the team that brought...

Rollins to step back from Bachmann role By: Maggie Haberman September 5, 2011 05:56 PM EDT Ed Rollins is going to be stepping back from day-to-day management of the Michele Bachmann campaign, and moving into a senior advisory role, he said in an interview. Rollins said the reason for the change is personal — his health and the rigors of a campaign. "I wish I was 40 years old, but I'm not," he told POLITICO. "I'm 68 years old, I had a stroke a year and a half ago. I'm worn out."

(NewsCore) - COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Minnesota congresswoman and 2012 presidential candidate Michele Bachmann left some listeners scratching their heads Thursday when she said during a radio show interview that the US was in danger of being eclipsed by the Soviet Union. Bachmann made the remark during an appearance on the Jay Sekulow radio show while campaigning in South Carolina. "It really is about jobs and the economy," Bachmann said when asked what was on the minds of American voters she met on the trail. "But what people recognize is that there's a fear that the United States is in an...

At some point in the near future, someone may ask Rep. Michele Bachmann: Who are you, and what have you done with the real Michele Bachmann? The Minnesota congresswoman and Republican presidential candidate has undergone a radical change in the last couple of months. She's still extremely conservative, but you can't really call her a firebrand anymore. While her words might not seem reasonable to many, her countenance no longer is frightening to them, and that makes her a legitimate candidate. What's different? The most obvious addition to her candidacy is political consultant Ed Rollins, who first became known to...

Sorry for the vanity post but I have not seen anyone bring this up. Who should Sarah choose as her No 1 campaign advisor/Chairman. You know it will not be the normal conventional pick. I thing "Rush Limbaugh". He thinks outside the box...like the Ebay/Ried turnaround. Interested in hearing what other Freepers have to say.

Not a fan of Ed Rollins, but you know that. I guess this qualifies as Part 3 of the “Hey Ed Rollins, you deal with it” series. More than not being a fan of Ed Rollins, I keep questioning why Michele Bachmann started her campaign by having Rollins attack Sarah Palin in very demeaning terms, and if it was not planned, why Bachmann did not fire Rollins on the spot. That question becomes important because as Bachmann rises in the polls and spotlight, the process of Palinizing her by the left-blogosphere and mainstream media also is rising. The disgusting Rolling...

What's with the hatred of Michele Bachmann at Free Republic lately? I've seen some psychotic paranoid drivel about her secretly working for Mitt Romney, but apparently there's more to it than that. Please help me out here, folks.

Earlier this week, what could be the first shots were fired in a potential rivalry between potential Republican presidential hopefuls Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. On Tuesday, Bachmann campaign manager Ed Rollins said Palin wasn’t a “serious” candidate for president and that upset many Palin supporters, who also tend to support Bachmann. In an appearance on Thursday’s syndicated “Hugh Hewitt Show,” columnist Mark Steyn asked the question – what is Bachmann doing with Rollins on her team in the first place? “Well you know, let me say it as bluntly as I can because I...

His hire was also her first real campaign decision. If you’re not up to speed on the story, here’s what’s going on. Rep. Bachmann hired veteran Republican campaign strategist Ed Rollins to manage her campaign. Campaign managers have to carry a few qualities, among them toughness, a bit of ruthlessness, communications and fundraising savvy (and there are many qualities packed into those two qualities), and a certain ability to provide useful leadership and simultaneously blend into the background. That last is because, while they manage the campaign, the campaign isn’t about them. It’s about the candidate. But Ed Rollins tends...

The last thing Congresswoman Michele Bachmann should want as she considers launching a campaign for President is that she get dragged down into the gutter at the outset by a political consultant – Ed Rollins – who makes her look petty because he works for her. President Ronald Reagan, who Republican candidates often quote, frowned upon Republican candidates trashing Republican candidates. What Rollins said that reflects upon Congresswoman Bachmann certainly is not the worst…but it was gratuitous and not responding to an insult. This early tactic (before the candidate even makes it official) is a strong indicator of what is...

Ed Rollins isn’t helping Michel Bachmann By Jennifer Rubin For some conservatives Ed Rollins was an odd choice for Rep. Michele Bachmann’s presidential campaign. She’s fresh; he’s not. She’s anti-Beltway; he personifies it. She’s disciplined; and he’s shown he’s not. The trouble started when Rollins, still in his TV cabler mind-set, went after Sarah Palin, calling her “not serious.” This was dumb on multiple levels including (in no particular order): 1) it took the focus off his boss; 2) it will offend voters who are Bachmann’s natural constituency; and 3) it plays into the sexist “Palin v. Bachmann!” match-up that...

Sarah Palin's chief of staff blasted Michele Bachmann strategist Ed Rollins today after Rollins criticized the former Alaska governor and suggested to POLITICO that his candidate would benefit by comparison to her "Beltway political strategist Ed Rollins has a long, long track record of taking high profile jobs and promptly sticking his foot in his mouth," said Sarah PAC chief of staff Michael Glassner in an emailed statement. "To no one's surprise he has done it again, while also fueling a contrived narrative about the presidential race by the mainstream media. One would expect that his woodshed moment is coming...

Veteran Republican campaign strategist Ed Rollins, who signed on to steer Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann's looming presidential bid, said his recent criticism of Sarah Palin is not part of an electoral strategy. SNIP But the former CNN contributor said he needs to adjust from "being a political analyst back to being a strategist." "I don't think Palin runs and if she does we will deal with it. There obviously is a trend in the media to link them," Rollins told CNN. "In the long run we want Palin and her people as our allies." In an interview with POLITICO, Rollins...

Bachmann vs. Palin feud hits Twitter By Matt Lewis A few weeks ago, I pointed out that a prominent Sarah Palin blogger had turned on Michele Bachmann. On Fox News Sunday this week, Palin pointed out that she, unlike Bachmann, had executive experience (though added that Bachmann had strengths, too). The feud was taken to a new level, however, when Bachmann’s new “celebrity” campaign manager, Ed Rollins referred to Palin as “not serious.” This was too much for Palin supporter and talk radio host, Tammy Bruce who took to her Twitter feed. Bruce, who also appears in the new film...