Former Bachmann manager says she lacks resources to go beyond Iowa

Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-Minn.) former campaign manager, Ed Rollins, said that the three-term lawmaker doesn’t have the resources to extend her presidential campaign beyond the Iowa caucuses.

“I think Michele — which always was the game plan — if she somehow could win Iowa, then she can get another look,” Rollins said on MSNBC Monday afternoon. “Right now she’s competing hard in Iowa. She doesn’t have the ability or the resources to go beyond Iowa at this point in time, where [Texas Gov. Rick] Perry and [former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt] Romney with lots of money could go on to South Carolina, Arizona, Florida and other places.”

Rollins’s pessimistic comments about Bachmann come just a few days after he criticized the Minnesota Republican for linking mental retardation to an HPV vaccine Perry mandated.

“You check that out. You don’t make a broad statement like that,” Rollins said.

He has made a number of statements that have been seen as critical of Bachmann’s chances for winning the GOP nomination. He also has said that there was “no question” that Bachmann would have to prove she is a viable candidate. 

In September, Rollins stepped down as Bachmann’s campaign manager, citing his age, but said he would continue to support her.

Bachmann has made winning Iowa the centerpiece of her presidential campaign strategy. She won the Ames Straw Poll by a close margin — fewer than 200 votes from second-place finisher Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).

She reported $4.2 million in her second-quarter fundraising report, which included $2 million transferred from her congressional campaign account.

---