Video: Huckabee chairman Ed Rollins on victory and being blogged in Iowa Update: Partial transcript added
posted at 10:03 pm on January 3, 2008 by Bryan
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This may be the strangest victory speech I’ve ever seen. Huckabee campaign guru Ed Rollins seems like he really does want to punch someone’s teeth out, and any teeth will do. Here he spars with Chris Wallace on the Huckabee win, chides the pundits for dismissing their campaign and reacts to Amanda Carpenter’s odd eavesdropper blog post about Rollins having lunch with his wife earlier today.
Stay with this clip all the way to the end for Brit Hume’s priceless take. Rollins is definitely the pit bull in the campaign right now, somewhat ironically working for the candidate who’s trading on the nice guy brand. Good dog, bad dog, I guess.
The clip starts after Wallace offers Rollins his congratulations for the big win.
Update: Depressing thought of the night. There’s little room to argue that Huckabee’s win wasn’t built on identity politics — he won decisively among voters who “share his values,” and Iowa’s GOPers are 60% evangelicals. On the other side, Obama beat Clinton across the board and among women, who ought to be her core. If she gets half the women’s vote, she wins. But she didn’t.
So identity politics played a decisive role on the GOP side, and much less of a role on the Democrat side. That’s a reversal in the way the two parties tend to think and choose their respective leaders.
Update: Michelle transcribed some of the fun parts.
CW: Ed, I’m not sure you’re aware of this, but you’re the subject of a blog on Townhall.com tonight. Someone says they overheard you eating at a restaurant called Winston’s. Let me ask you first of all, did you eat at a restaurant called Winston’s?
ER: I did and the tall, beautiful blonde that they were referring to is my wife. We snuck off to have a little lunch today and obviously when you have thousands and thousands of reporters covering it, there was no one else but one woman at another table and obviously she was the blogger…it was a private conversation between my wife and I…
…
CW: …It says you talked about going negative in South Carolina…do what you gotta do…
ER: …It was a private conversation…not for public consumption…and the reality is Mike Huckabee makes the decision in this campaign, I don’t…I don’t think [wife] expected to have our private lunch…
Update: “It’s not a pundit-driven party anymore.”
Update: Stray thoughts about Rollins. If Huck gets to the general election, Rollins may be a fun one to watch. Say what you will about him, but he’s no mouse. Huck can play nice all he wants but Rollins will be out there kneecapping whatever Democrats he thinks deserve it, and double that for journalists who cross him.
On the other hand, he’ll probably say something that gets him taken offline before Huckabee gets that far. He has a history of doing that sort of thing.
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Good dog, bad dog, I guess.
Either way - theyre both sons of bitches.
amish on January 3, 2008 at 10:05 PM
Good dog, bad dog, I guess.
Either way - theyre both sons of b****s.
amish on January 3, 2008 at 10:05 PM
later dude.
amend2 on January 3, 2008 at 10:06 PM
ah double post. That “awaiting moderation” led to self censorship.
Chill wind.
amish on January 3, 2008 at 10:07 PM
Huckabee needs to drop this guy like a bad habit while everyone is focused on McCain and Romney in NH. This weekend.
Complete7 on January 3, 2008 at 10:07 PM
I saw that, but I’m more impressed with Fox’s Hannity having Guiliani give a victory speech on his show after his historical failure in Iowa.
McCain didn’t campaign much in Iowa either yet he got 13% of the vote. Why even consider Rudy at all now when he didn’t even get more than 5%? It must be because Hannity likes him.
ThackerAgency on January 3, 2008 at 10:09 PM
teh man behind the mirror… OZ!
amend2 on January 3, 2008 at 10:09 PM
in all defense to Rudy on the police thing he doesn’t mention that Rudy was dismanteling the MOB and they were threatening everyone Rudy knew.
amend2 on January 3, 2008 at 10:11 PM
Give Rollins a break…he’s still bitter about losing Minnesota in ‘84.
billy on January 3, 2008 at 10:13 PM
Has he been buying “vitamins” from Barry Bonds or those WWF guys?
Zorro on January 3, 2008 at 10:14 PM
How many contexts are there to “I want to knock his teeth out”?
krabbas on January 3, 2008 at 10:18 PM
Ed Rollins is a creep.
Griz on January 3, 2008 at 10:19 PM
Ed Rollins reminds me of Danny Bonaduce. Except not as funny. And WTH - context? on knocking teeth out? Riiight.
Spirit of 1776 on January 3, 2008 at 10:21 PM
I’ve never voted for a Dem in my life. I’ll never vote for Huckabee, and it’s got nothing to do with Rollins. There is no lie Huckabee won’t tell about his record on illegals, letting criminals out of prison, or anything else. If I knew mine were the vote to decide the general election, I won’t vote for him.
The man is filth, and if my fellow Christian voters really were responsible for his victory, then I’ve got a lot of praying to do tonight.
doufree on January 3, 2008 at 10:21 PM
I used to like Rollins until he went with Perot. He’s a political whore… and a mean one, at that.
edgehead on January 3, 2008 at 10:23 PM
mean sob aint he, i was watching this when it was on and my jaw hit the floor a couple times lol
OT: did anyone see that runback by VT w00t!
trailortrash on January 3, 2008 at 10:25 PM
Back room talk before the camera. Hmmmm. Always a bad idea.
About as comforting as Hillary’s cackle.
pat on January 3, 2008 at 10:26 PM
Douche. “Joyful victor, indeed…”
Jaibones on January 3, 2008 at 10:28 PM
Values politics at it’s best.
If there’s one thing I like about Oz politics (and at the moment, there isn’t all that much), is that policy seems to take a huge priority over ‘values’. Probably because the average Australian doesn’t expect a politician to have any values, I don’t know..
Reaps on January 3, 2008 at 10:28 PM
I watched it live, too, and I laughed through most of it. The guy obviously didn’t expect to be asked about the blog post and that threw him off. The “private restaurant” quote was probably the funniest thing he said. That and when he said Hickabee didn’t go negative.
Unreal. I think we’ll be seeing a resignation on Huckabee’s team before the weekend is out.
Jaynie59 on January 3, 2008 at 10:31 PM
Yeah. The irony doesn’t escape me either.
Spirit of 1776 on January 3, 2008 at 10:33 PM
Thanks AP.
Nyog_of_the_Bog on January 3, 2008 at 10:36 PM
They deserve each other.
Where’s the outrage, you conservative evangelicals? Bleh.
peski on January 3, 2008 at 10:39 PM
There. Fixed it for you, Ed. You’re on your own explaining the rest of it.
fred5678 on January 3, 2008 at 10:40 PM
Well, is there anyway to make this a positive night for the republican party?
We have Obama crushing Hillary, and while there’s some cold comfort there, she was the most beatable candidate. And to challenge Obama, we have Huck. The man who disses Reagan’s coalition. The man who is running on being pastor.
And the man who likes high taxes and knows nothing about the world.
Great, just great.
Vanceone on January 3, 2008 at 10:40 PM
Watching Huck’s speech now… freakiest thing in the world is seeing Chuck Norris right there, grinning like a moron with the whitest damn teeth I have ever seen.
Wineaholic on January 3, 2008 at 10:40 PM
I think it’s more of a “let him be the bad guy and if any heat comes Huck’s way because of it, we can always dump Rollins and distance ourselves from his comments”… Like all the Hillary campaign folks who’ve been dumped after going dirty (”Obama did drugs!”, etc.), even though you know they were doing her bidding all along.
The fun part about this is Wallace digs in right in the face of the culprit and Rollins can’t say anything but “it was supposed to be a private conversation”. Okay, but that’s not a denial of the fact that you said to go dirty and you’re working for Mr. Clean.
The sad thing is, this will get very little play in the MSM because they want Huck to be our guy because he doesn’t stand a chance in the general election.
Anyway, thanks for posting this Bryan, I’m sure the HotAirheads will get a kick out of it…. I did when I watched it unfold earlier.
RightWinged on January 3, 2008 at 10:46 PM
Watching Huck’s speech now… freakiest thing in the world is seeing Chuck Norris right there, grinning like a moron with the whitest damn teeth I have ever seen.
Wineaholic on January 3, 2008 at 10:40 PM
Down South we call that “grinnin’ like a mule eatin’ briars”. Freaky deakiest thing I have ever seen.
d1carter on January 3, 2008 at 10:47 PM
I wonder how many times and how many wonderful ways Ed Rollins’ name will be used in vain and how many more times than that he’ll actually deserve it.
Speakup on January 3, 2008 at 10:50 PM
I think Rollins really does want to knock someone’s teeth out…
d1carter on January 3, 2008 at 10:53 PM
Rollings is a pit bull but seems to be a odd character. I’d take him anyday over the likes of Terry MaCalif
the ex DNC chairman.
I can not stand that guy and don’t care if mangled his name.
Texyank on January 3, 2008 at 11:03 PM
This type of personality will sure sink any chance Huckster has. And by the way, I believe every word of that blog about that overheard “private” conversation with hundreds of reporters around…? Does he think the rest of us are stupid?
SouthernGent on January 3, 2008 at 11:40 PM
Pretty funny evening so far. To hear the media and the blogs tell it we’ve got our nominees. I doubt it on the repub side. O’BamBam might just pull it off on the Dem side. I hope not, he’ll be harder to beat than Clinton. The Huckster might be starting a cycle where he shows the nation he really is a national candidate, but I still don’t think he’ll be there in the end. Too many skeletons in that boy’s closet. One thing for absolutely sure… the Huckster could never beat O’BamBam.
Griz on January 3, 2008 at 11:41 PM
Dude, I’m tempted to leave the this site after reading that paragraph. We simply can’t have any “ifs” about Huck getting the nomination, because there will NEVER be a “President Huckabee”. I’m sorry, and I know a person’s name has nothing to do with their qualifications… but let’s be real, it sounds like a friggin’ cartoon character and I think we all know that America will not elect a “President Huckabee”.
Let us not even consider this possibility, and instead use our energy to wake up the morons who he’s tricked in to supporting him by being the Christian on the side of the culture war. That’s all this is, a bunch of people (Christians) who are fed up with how they’re being treated lately… but they’re stupidly hitching themselves to the wagon of an unelectable guy who’s record they’d have some issues with if they were looking past his religion.
RightWinged on January 3, 2008 at 11:54 PM
From AP via Politico:
87% precincts reporting
Rudy 3.47%
Huck 34.24%
Hunter .44%
McCain 13.16%
Paul 9.79%
Romney 25.5%
Fred 13.39%
bnelson44 on January 3, 2008 at 11:58 PM
I’m curious how Rush will react tomorrow. He spent a huge amount of time today knocking Huckabee, Rollins, and co. Rush seems to have helped instead of hurt Huckabee, since Huck did even better than the polls indicated he would. My husband’s analysis: Iowans don’t like being told what to do, or whom to vote for. They’ll do the opposite, just to show they have minds of their own. Nose/face kinda thing, I guess. Thanks, Iowa.
aero on January 4, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Rush is part of the coastal elite of this country. Many people know that.
bnelson44 on January 4, 2008 at 12:06 AM
What A but hole he will sink him and he should be sunk
pjf626 on January 4, 2008 at 12:08 AM
Oh how the wheel has turned since last year. Now the evangelicals are RINO or CINO or stupid. The GOP is eating its own and bleeding badly. No one was complaining about the evangelical support in 2004 were they?
Bradky on January 4, 2008 at 12:48 AM
Why am I feeding this troll? Bradky, it’s not that anyone is complaining about the evangelical support… we’re complaining about the few boneheads in the bunch who have made Huckabee in to a candidate with a chance because he’s pandered to them. Those that have bought his “vote for me because I’m a Christian” are as stupid as those Democrats who vote the way they do because they’ve been pandered to (i.e. most of them). Also, is anyone surprised that the candidate from each party who has gotten such positive media coverage just won this caucus? It’s disgusting the power that MSM has, but they have it none the less.
RightWinged on January 4, 2008 at 1:02 AM
The MSM didn’t hold a gun to anyone’s head. The GOP base in its search for the “Perfect Conservative” created this result.
So 39000+ are morons. Okaly Dokaly.
Bradky on January 4, 2008 at 1:16 AM
Yup. Why is that surprising? What is it now, a third of the country believes in 9/11 conspiracy theories? Not that tough to believe that 39,000 Iowans are stupid too. Bottom line, he was a nobody and the media helped him look like a real candidate. You don’t think they could have done it with Tancredo or Hunter if they’d wanted to? Admittedly the Huckabee thing is a recent phenomenon, but prior to that, the media decided that the only candidates who they’d allow on the Dem side were Obama, Edwards, and Hillary, and on the GOP side Giuliani, Romney, Fred!, and McCain (more Guiliani and Romney though).
RightWinged on January 4, 2008 at 1:49 AM
Huckster won in a landslide… does this mean we can finally and forever stop paying attention to Iowa now?
Still, it does warm my cold, cynical, meat-clogged heart to see that Mitt still didn’t win after spending 9.8 bazillion dollars there.
Hollowpoint on January 4, 2008 at 3:10 AM
Even with such little exposure to these Huckabee supporters, they are starting to bother me far more than the Ronulans ever have or could. It’s almost intolerable to hear their phone calls into the likes of Rush Limbaugh. These are people (”conservatives”) who are either apologists for his shameful record or in complete denial or ignorance about it, play up the Christian victim card as if the opposition is coming on the basis of religion (unlike, actually, their basis of support), and have the audacity to compare this populist hick as not only conservative but REAGAN reincarnate. How appalling.
With them delivering a (the first of many?) Huckabee victory in Iowa, I have some frank words for them, from me: Fu## you, and stop trying to redefine conservatism and stop hijacking this nomination process. You are nothing but a bunch of gullible, naive simpletons and by (almost) en masse supporting a clueless liberal dunce like Huckabee who has so easily duped you with classic identity politics, you are every bit what you stereotyped to be. Stop it before you kill our party and most importantly the conservative movement. If you don’t, the backlash AGAINST YOU will be far greater than any power play you are trying to make now, and the hostility against you and opposition to your little pet social issues will be much worse than it is now, with Democrats in complete control.
/rant
Patriot33 on January 4, 2008 at 3:26 AM
When was the last time you saw a true Huck supporter on this site. The next will be the first. Your rant is preaching to the choir. The Huckaboom is an uncontrollable groundswell from some unknown source — maybe a rebellion of long suppressed evangelical liberals — they do not blog, read newspapers, or even believe in evolution. They take their marching orders from their pastor and show up on election day. It’s like a hurricane. All we can do is hope it blows over.
tommylotto on January 4, 2008 at 6:40 AM
So your beef with the media is that they failed to check with you as to who should get the emphasis?
Bradky on January 4, 2008 at 7:48 AM
Huck started his huge rise in the polls when he decided to become the Jesus candidate. That resonates with many God fearing people who fear that they need a candidate that will protect them from the evil world around them. But their concerns lack depth. Huck may fight against abortion, but he certainly wont fight for constructionist justices. He brings his religious beliefs into the government and that ALSO resonates with God fearing folk. Forgiveness is a virtue. I don’t know how they square Huck’s push to release a guy who murdered again, except to say that they are so convinced Huck is God’s anointed candidate because he showed mercy, that any criticism of him must be a lie.
It is disgusting that Huck is running as the Jesus candidate, but I believe he believes he is the Jesus candidate. This makes him dangerous. Not because he can destroy this country, but because he will seriously quash this countries ability to have an effective foreign policy. He will be the next Carter. And when his presidency goes the way of Carter, he will do exactly as Carter has. He will continue to believe he was the “chosen” candidate and will spend the rest of his life pushing the same agenda that destroyed his credibility in the first place.
But, fear not folks. These are the days of the 527 swiftboaters and they will not be silent. I predict the attack ads start real soon and Huck will be exposed for the liberal nanny stater (who is completely misinformed on foreign policy) that he is. The beauty of it is that they wont have to lie at all.
csdeven on January 4, 2008 at 8:32 AM
Riiight. Huckabee soars to victory so it’s a perfect time to fire his campaign manager.
Do you think the Iowan Redeem the Vote crowd, female in the majority, care about what Rush says? I doubt it. I think they care much more what Rick Warren says, and the people who are voting for him are not conservatives except on social issues.
In any case, Rush will say it’s not over, and there’s a long way to go before our nominee is determined.
/Sarc?
Buy Danish on January 4, 2008 at 9:02 AM
Rollins along with is bobo Mike Huckabee is a total shmuck.
Hilts on January 4, 2008 at 9:02 AM
What an ungracious a**hole!
Hilts on January 4, 2008 at 9:12 AM
I’d like to hear what Arianna Huffington has to say about Ed Rollins. In Rollins’ book, he describes the CA Senate race in which he managed Michael Huffington’s campaign as the Republican in the race. Arianna was married to Michael at this time. Arianna and Ed squabbled repeatedly over negative campaign tactics to expose Huffington’s opponent as an employer of illegal immigrants. The problem, the Huffington’s employed illegal immigrants. Rollins thought the idea was stupid and would expose their own campaign. Arianna pushed and pushed until Michael Huffington did decide to go negative.
Huffington lost that race and Arianna soon thereafter divorced him and held on to the last name.
gabriel sutherland on January 4, 2008 at 9:40 AM
My jaw was agape through the whole interview on the drive home last night.
- The Cat
MirCat on January 4, 2008 at 9:41 AM
Patriot33, I agree with you 100%.
From what I gathered, Iowans don’t have any issues that they’re concerned about. That’s one reason they went with Huckabee, besides the fact that he’s not afraid to say “Merry Christmas.”
Iowa has around a 3% Hispanic population, so the invasion hasn’t reached them yet, so no concern there. Apparently, Iowans aren’t concerned about his record of releasing violent prisioners, because it doesn’t effect them. I know Neil Boortz likes him because of him saying he supports the FairTax plan, but Huckaberry’s history is one of tax, tax, and more tax. Apparently Iowans like to pay tax, so again no concern.
The only thing I do know about Iowans is that they don’t like “negative ads.” I heard a woman say it on Hannity the other night. Iowans didn’t get to see the dirty underhanded trick that Huck did the other day to Romney, so that ad didn’t count.
I do think there is a “Gomer Pyle Syndrome” going on with Huckabee and that played at lot to do with his winning in Iowa.
moonsbreath on January 4, 2008 at 9:44 AM
P.S. “won four times in a democratic state” hmmmmm I don’t know that I like this.
P.P.S. It’s not private if spoken in public.
P.P.P.S. Private or not you give me the jibblies.
P.P.P.P.S. Blaming your wife as a novice for what you said?!!
MirCat on January 4, 2008 at 9:51 AM
Rollins will get a lot of face time on the networks until the general when the MSM will pull their knives out of Romneys and Thompsons back and righteously bury them in Huckabees back.
broker1 on January 4, 2008 at 10:02 AM
The vote for Huck just proves the point that you can’t buy an election…no amount of money hides a weak candidate. Forbes, Perot, and others have tried to buy the office, it just doesn’t work. Mitt does not have enough money to overcome his weaknesses.
Mitt will do well, outspending Huck by 20 he should, but it won’t get him to the finish line.
right2bright on January 4, 2008 at 10:21 AM
Apparently the GOP is still in a free-fall…
DfDeportation on January 4, 2008 at 12:20 PM
Chris Muir at Day by Day has the best response.
LakeRuins on January 4, 2008 at 12:58 PM
Rollins is very annoying.
Huckabee better tell Ed to “put a lid on it.”
gatewaypundit on January 4, 2008 at 1:07 PM
And we’re done troll… I knew I should have never fed you to begin with.
RightWinged on January 4, 2008 at 2:33 PM
This is the same Ed Rollins who turned his back on Reagan conservatism and appeared in October (along with Ron Paul) at the Hezbollah-sponsored Arab American Institute conference in Dearbornistan. It was a HAMAS/Hezbo-fest. Guh-reat guy.
Debbie Schlussel on January 4, 2008 at 2:38 PM
Not sure about that, Bryan. Feminist identity politics may not have won the night, but what about Oprah campaigning for Obama so we can elect the first black President. It’s IP for the win on both sides.
John on January 4, 2008 at 5:56 PM