Posted on 06/27/2011 11:54:18 AM PDT by RummyChick
Rep. Michele Bachmann kicked off her presidential campaign on Monday in Waterloo, Iowa, and in one interview surrounding the official event she promised to mimic the spirit of Waterloo's own John Wayne.
The only problem, as one eagle-eyed reader notes: Waterloo's John Wayne was not the beloved movie star, but rather John Wayne Gacy, the serial killer.
Mrs. Bachmann grew up in Waterloo, and used the town as the backdrop for her campaign announcement, where she told Fox News: "Well what I want them to know is just like, John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That's the kind of spirit that I have, too."
(Someone has already posted the clip to YouTube under the name BachmannLovesGacy) John Wayne, the movie legend, is in fact from Iowa and the John Wayne birthplace is a celebrated landmark — only it's in Winterset, which is a nearly three hour drive away from Waterloo. Gacy, though, had his first taste of the criminal life in Waterloo, where he lived for a short time, and where he had his first criminal conviction for an attempted homosexual assault, which landed him in prison for 18 months. He would move back to Illinois, where his killing spree started, and lasted about six years. In 1980 he was convicted on 33 counts of murder, and was executed in 1994.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
I don’t care whether you are liberal or conservative, this is a pretty funny gaffe. How stupid could her staff be? And I say this as someone who is really impressed with her and hopes she goes far in politics.
Kick off the campaign in the “Spirit of John Wayne Gacy” — that is funny.
I think that all of the gaffes are due to politicians hiring graduates who have been promoted through the U.S. school system that doesn’t teach anything.
Can’t we find anyone who knows what they are talking about?
“SHE LOVES MURDER CLOWNS
Michele Bachmann Launches 2012 Campaign By Praising ‘Killer Clown’ John Wayne Gacy”
http://wonkette.com/448389/michele-bachmann-launches-campaign-with-praise-for-serial-killer-john-wayne-gacy
Bachmann Proud to Share Origins With John Wayne... Gacy, Serial Killer
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2011/06/bachmann-proud-be-home-john-wayne-gacy/39315/
Flashback: “...uuhhh, Ottawa...uh...Iowa..” or some such rot by Dear Leader...LOL
Her being from Waterloo, you’d think she’d know better...
As a life-long conservative with a (l)libertarian bent, I have NEVER understood support for Bachmann.
Anyone who thinks she has a chance in this election cycle does not understand American politics IMHO.
I can't imagine a scenario where I would vote for her.
Can’t we find anyone who knows what they are talking about?”
How about Sarah? And then Rove and all the other “experts” think she doesn’t have it together to run because she hasn’t hired the normal staff of incompetents like the other have.
Maybe Chris Wallace should revisit his apology on the use of the word flake.
This stupid comment from her is going to make for some real laughable headlines.
It is going viral..for sure.
At least she didn’t suggest that while in Waterloo, she’d like to visit the field where Napoleon lost that big battle.
Well that’s it, her campaign is over.
Meanwhile, Barack Hussein “All 57 States” Obama continues to get a pass.
>>> .... John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That’s the kind of spirit that I have, too.”
This statement sold me. Let Michele Bachmann be in charge of the death panel.
Depends on how long she lived there. Pretty important speech, the campaign kick-off speech, and she gets an “F” due to no fact checking. Hate that, I’d like to see her do well but that is a pretty poor performance. Did not see the speech, it may have been grade “A” but this will be the only thing reported for awhile.
Well, until Sarah declares, I’m not worried about her. Michelle is running.
Yep, and I’m a Michelle fan after Sarah Palin; but, this gaffe is ridiculous.
Yep, bad mistake, but she didn’t say she praised Gacy
for Pete’s sake.
Oh well, lets see. We haven’t got a good one in or out of the race. Hope this changes.
Yes, I had a good laugh with this one; however I blame her staff. I hope someone is not doing this deliberately to her.
She needs to avoid extemporaneous speech on any historical material she is not sure of. If a staffer gave her that, fire him.
I love it!
Perhaps I haven’t a sense of humor. I don’t find this funny at all. I find it unfortunate. She’s in the running to replace an incompetent screwup as the President of the United States of America.
Hiring Rollins was her first mistake. This is #what?
Screwups don’t cut it when one is running against a screwup.
She will cut, slash, and hack the federal budget in the spirit of serial killers everywhere.
This could kill her campaign.
Obama has made plenty of stupid mistakes and gotten a pass.
Bachmann will not get a pass.
And the very nature of this stupidity gives fodder for lots of late night comedy.
I am really laughing at some of the headlines I am seeing on this as I surf the internet.
It must be some tradition that when you announce that you are a Presidential Candidate, you then do/say something stupid that the Press can blow out of proportion.
Psst! Over here.
How could she NOT know that the “Duke” was from Winterset and not Waterloo?
The media is going to ravage her for this screw up.
She’s been on my short list, so I hate to see something of this caliber happen. It’s more serious than Crain’s ‘Right of Return’ gaffe. Not knowing something about Israeli/Palestinian issues is one thing, but mistaking the ‘John Wayne’ that’s associated with the town you lived in is something else; regardless of how long she lived there.
Time will tell, but I hope she gets people more attuned to what they’re putting in speeches, and she not taking things for granted...
Napoleon’s defeat was actually outside the village of Plancenoit,which was more than four miles from Waterloo.
John .Wayne is from Iowa but not Waterloo. So the mistake isn’t that bad!!
Deservedly so. This isn't some off-the-cuff comment that she simply botched (who hasn't at some point?) -- this was, arguably, the most important political speech of her life, and this is a major flub.
No, it was an off the cuff comment to a reporter.
Don’t think she said it in the speech but I havne’t checked.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry, or both! Everyone makes mistakes, but at an official Presidential kick-off announcement?
Wouldn’t someone already be aware if one shared the same hometown as someone as hugely famous as John Wayne to begin with? And then to mix the facts up with that horrific homosexual killer is a pretty darned embarrassing gaffe, to put it mildly.
Yeah, but that would’nt have made as good a song for ABBA.
i yi yi yi yi.
But John Gacy?? Come on. Whose screw up was this?
Interview, not speech. That would have been much, much worse.
If she really grew up in Waterloo, then I don’t see how she could possibly have made this mistake. Unless she had no interest in John Wayne until he became a convenient political symbol.
That's true, and I've actually driven around the area. But as a matter of historical metaphor, no one ever says, "This might just turn out to be his 'Plancenoit'!"
The problem is that Bachmann is from Waterloo.
She should know that the Hero was not born there and the infamous killer did live there.
Well, that's different then. Still a gaffe, but nowhere near as devastating.
Please delete my dup post in 32. Hit post too fast!
So when we don`t like someone, like Obama, he`s a doofus for saying something dumb, but she`s on our side it`s the campaign underling`s fault? This woman wants to be leader of the free world and I sure won`t lower my standards to Obama-level awfulness because she`s of the right. If her campaign messed up, SHE hired the one who screwed up. This kind of sloppiness is intolerable for our side—you know, the side that`s supposed to have the highest standards and not support people because of feeeeelings of because we `like` her? Obama is infinitely beatable, but not by any of these boobs who are current possibilities. Damn, where are the smart conservatives with accomplishment, with life experience, with high intellectual and ethical standards?
I don’t think that would have worked as well as lyrics for an Abba song.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
