Ed Rollins, a longtime GOP strategist and the former campaign manager for Michele Bachmann’s 2012 presidential campaign, penned an op-ed for Fox News’ website today slamming the Minnesota congresswoman for her recent remarks about the Muslim Brotherhood and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Chief of Staff Huma Abedin.
Bachmann has been roundly condemned by members of her own party for suggesting that Abedin, the wife of former Congressman Anthony Weiner, is part of a coordinated effort to undermine or diminish the United States’ response to the Muslim Brotherhood.
“Shame on you, Michele!” writes Rollins, before unleashing a wave of criticism on his former boss:
Her unsubstantiated charge against Abedin, a widely respected top aide to Secretary Hillary Clinton, accusing her of some sort of far-fetched connection to the Muslim brotherhood, is extreme and dishonest.
Having worked for Congressman Bachman’s campaign for president, I am fully aware that she sometimes has difficulty with her facts, but this is downright vicious and reaches the late Senator Joe McCarthy level.
Rollins’ comments are the most forceful condemnation yet of Bachmann’s decision to submit a letter to several national security agencies in which she and three other congressmen claim — without a shred of evidence — that the Muslim Brotherhood had infiltrated the US government by securing senior-level positions in various government agencies. Rollins had guided Rep. Bachmann to a surprising victory in the 2011 Iowa straw poll before he stepped down from the day-to-day responsibilities in September amidst the campaign’s falling poll numbers.
Earlier today, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) gave an impassioned defense of Abedin and denounced Bachmann on the senate floor.