Michele Bachmann Flops 'John Wayne' Reference In Waterloo, Iowa (VIDEO) [UPDATED]

In Waterloo, Iowa on the eve of her official presidential campaign announcement, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) told Fox News that she has "the spirit" of John Wayne.

The presidential hopeful -- who was born and grew up in Waterloo as a child before moving to Minnesota -- said, "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."

The Washington Times points out one slight problem with the Tea Party favorite's remarks: The John Wayne with roots in Waterloo is John Wayne Gacy, a serial killer who was executed by lethal injection in 1994 after being convicted of 33 murders.

John Wayne -- the late movie star, director and producer -- was born in Winterset, Iowa, but appears to have no specific connection to Waterloo.

Bachmann's reference to Wayne in the Hawkeye State does not appear to be an isolated incident. In the latest edition of Newsmax magazine, the conservative congresswoman says in an exclusive interview, "We're seeing the nation move into decline. I'm not willing to do that. I'm not satisfied. I grew up with John Wayne’s America. I was proud that you grew up in John Wayne’s America: Proud to be an American, thrilled to be a patriot."

UPDATE: The Washington Times reports that Bachmann's camp addressed her remarks to Fox News in a statement saying, "John Wayne is from Iowa, his parents lived in Waterloo." CNN reports, "But according to the Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, the actor's parents did live in the city at one point."

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Comments

[trodriguesvah]

01:44 PM on 07/19/2011

John Waynes family roots start in Waterloo.....but I guess that would mean someone would have to research...easier just to start another worthless story.....

[candoworker]

08:26 PM on 07/18/2011

Ya know, I can appreciate the clarification that John Wayne's parents lived in Waterloo for a time, but Ms. Bachmann did not compare herself to John Wayne's parents, she compared herself to John Wayne himself. It also seems to me that it is time to readjust one's thinking when one's campaign camp has to constantly come out and explain the candidate's statements.

[ccarlos]

10:44 PM on 07/03/2011

Your "too-many-characters" policy is a big turn-off. One major reason why the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times andThe Economist attract so many on-line readers is that they welcome commentators and give them ample space to make their point. Not everything your bloggers write is first-rate journalism. Comments by outsiders are often more informative and interesting. The two-way conversation is good for business. Think about it.

[WFC]

02:43 PM on 06/30/2011

http://bigjournalism.com/jsexton/2011/06/30/lessons-in-media-bias-for-jon-stewart/#more-204784

[sus2222]

02:20 PM on 06/30/2011

Aw, Cum-on... She DIDN'T MEAN GACY

She meant Dahmer.

[writeon1]

07:20 PM on 06/29/2011

Yeah, her name really comes to mind, when I think of the great John Wayne. She must be Waterlooped.

[WFC]

02:49 PM on 06/30/2011

She was referring to the actor. Read a little bit and learn. HP again has it wrong, not surprizing. http://bigjournalism.com/jsexton/2011/06/30/lessons-in-media-bias-for-jon-stewart/#more-204784

[SaulBloodworth]

06:21 PM on 07/21/2011

Actually, she was not referring to the actor, she was referring to the characters the actor was playing in the movies and on TV. John Wayne, the actor, was a chain-smoking, drinking womanizer who was married three times.

[Debbie McPherson]

06:59 PM on 06/29/2011

Michelle Bachman...another in the long line of GOP non-contenders.....can't wait to hear how she responds when she is reminded of her comment that gays are the spawn of satan........ She's even worse than Palin ---is that possible?

[Mechelle Gray]

06:16 PM on 06/29/2011

Gimme a "F"
Gimme a "L"
Gimme a "A"
Gimme a "K"

Shall I continue?

[Greg Petty]

06:53 PM on 07/01/2011

please do

[asta1968]

03:56 PM on 06/29/2011

She is ballstothewall kkkrazy!

[Mary Karius]

03:37 PM on 06/29/2011

oh, this is WAY too much fun! although it's also pathetic that she is a serious contender to be POTUS. What does that say about our country?

[Debbie McPherson]

06:54 PM on 06/29/2011

Mary Karius It says we've been scraping the bottom of the barrell since Kennedy ....it's been all down hill, just when you think you couldn't find a bigger doofus than GW...out rolls Bachman, Palin and the other GOP contenders.....and the Democrats don't even ahve a real Democrat to vote for, we have Obama the Barbarian drone bomber and he's giving us Bush term#3... It's truly hopeless.....there isn't one maggot in the entire partisan cesspool of corruption in Washington DC that would or could restore us to a prosperous, free country....these are just puppets for the corporations......and bankers........America is caught up in a political doomsday cycle......they are all hideous and corrupt beyond words......

[Brian Ranzoni]

07:57 PM on 06/29/2011

Don't worry--In our effort to make the 21st Century another American century, we'll hand it all over to the Chinese and turn ourselves into such a slum that even many of the executives will end up begging on the street. Not even walls of money will be able to save people when the conditions become bad enough.

[NeverHadFaith]

02:35 PM on 06/29/2011

With the popularity of Palin and Bachmann seeming to run so high, does this mean anyone and make misstatements about history and claim them to be the truth? Isn't that wrong? Won't that make idiots out of us all?

[mario59]

02:01 PM on 06/29/2011

I find the most interesting part of this story is that the Washington Times, (the conservative rag owned by Sun Myung Moon of the Moonies) would make the comparison between John Wayne and John Wayne Gacy and point this out as a gaffe of Ms. Bachmann's. You would expect this to be noted by a more liberal rag.

[Greg Petty]

06:54 PM on 07/01/2011

She is a human Gaffe machine

[Brian Virgo]

10:34 AM on 06/29/2011

At least she can almost see John Wayne's actual hometown from Waterloo. Look at the bright side, she could've saddled up to other Iowans like Tom Arnold!

[marty52]

10:07 AM on 06/29/2011

Can’t believe you swallowed the Michelle Bachman “gaffe” story. You claim to have a reporters roots. Do at least 1 iota of due diligence on this story. John Wayne’s Parents lived in Waterloo for several years, they moved away to another Iowa town right before he was born. The fact that John Wayne Gacy lived in Waterloo does not mean she was referencing him by mistake. This story is like me saying the actor Jeff Bridges was born in Milwaukee (which is a mistake) so I must have mixed him up with Jeffery Dalmer the serial killer that lived there. PUHLEESE! The stretch is so desperate it’s mind boggling, especially at a time when the press is falling all over itself to excuse Obama for saying he personally handed out a medal to a living soldier who actually got the medal posthumously.

[Steamworks]

11:08 AM on 06/29/2011

Really? You can't see any kind of a gaffe there? I'm not saying it's earth shattering, but it is pretty funny...

I mean, my Dad is from Mississippi, but I've never been described as having been "from there". It seems like more of a stretch to say that she MEANT that statement because John Wayne's parents used to live in that town.

Obviously she wasn't purposefully saying that she had the spirit of John Wayne Gacy, but given that she used the name John Wayne, and he's the famous one who is actually from the town... it's what she accidently implied.

Again, not a huge deal at all, but it is funny. And the more you try to justify it, the more pathetic it looks. And the difference between that and Obama's gaffe is simply that that one isn't funny, it's tragic and sad. Neither one was intended, but one is much funnier to joke about.

[ejhickey]

12:59 PM on 06/29/2011

Gacy was actually from Chicago. Born there 1942. Lived two years in Waterloo 1966-68. sent to prison 1968-70. returned to chicago 1970 and got involved home remodeling and Democratic politics, among other things. Didn't spend enough time in Waterloo to justify a claim that he is "from " there. More like temporary resident.

[Steamworks]

05:19 PM on 06/29/2011

It looks like you've tried to reply to me a couple times with banned (or unapproved... it's hard to tell which on my end) comments. I was able to see one though, so I thought I'd at least respond to that.

I was not born in Mississippi, but my parents did live there. So no, I wouldn't say I was from there. That was my point earlier, but I didn't state clearly there that I wasn't born there. So that's cleared up...

As for John Wayne, he was born in Winterset, Iowa, not Waterloo. So she did make a legitimate mistake, which is why this got reported. As I said earlier, this wasn't a huge deal, but it was funny.

You also pointed out that Obama's "57" states gaffe wasn't covered, but I would counter that you and I both heard about it, so clearly it was covered (and I'm guessing by multiple news outlets since I doubt that we watch/read a lot of the same news sites).

[grimalkintoo]

09:53 AM on 06/29/2011

It's intriguing to know that Michele Bachmann and John Wayne Gacy are both from Waterloo, Iowa. Must have been something in the water.

[Aldyth]

10:56 AM on 06/29/2011

Has anyone checked the crawlspace under her house? I heard some interns were missing.

[Debbie McPherson]

06:56 PM on 06/29/2011

Aldyth yeah, anyone done a head count on all those 23 foster children lately?

[Greg Petty]

06:55 PM on 07/01/2011

like minds have a link