Ed Rollins: I Will Criticize Whoever You Want Me To For Money

Ed Rollins, who recently went to work for Michele Bachmann and raised many a hackle by criticizing Sarah Palin, wasn't exactly a fan of Bachmann during an interview a couple of months ago:

This week, Republican campaign veteran Ed Rollins signed on to run Rep. Michele Bachmann's presidential operation, ahead of what is expected to be her official declaration later this month in Waterloo, Iowa, the city where she was born. Rollins is a seasoned political consultant who knows conservative GOP politics. He worked on Ronald Reagan's 1984 re-election bid, and in 2008 he steered Mike Huckabee's campaign to an upset victory in the Iowa caucus. So it's significant that Rollins praised Bachmann, a tea party favorite, on Tuesday as a contender who can appeal to the religious right and be "a very strong candidate in Iowa." But not too long ago, Rollins had a very different appraisal of the Minnesota Republican.

In late January, Rollins appeared on CNN, where he's been a frequent commentator, to discuss the Republican Party's response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address. After praising Obama's speech and the GOP's official rebuttal, given by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Rollins dismissed Bachmann's poorly produced "tea party response." In doing so, Rollins questioned Bachmann's role as a credible Republican leader. Moreover, he suggested Bachmann ought not be representing the Republican Party.

"Michele Bachmann obviously is a member of Congress and a representative of the tea party," Rollins told CNN viewers. "But at the end of the day, we have to get our serious players out front and talking about the things that matter to be the alternative to the president and Democrats." In other words, he did not consider Bachmann a "serious" GOP player. (Just this week, Rollins bashed another tea party leader, Sarah Palin, as someone who "has not been serious over the last couple of years.")

We don't need guys like Rollins in the primary. I think it's possible for a good candidate to win without decimating his or her fellow Republicans.