Michele Bachmann has the "spirit" of John Wayne Gacy, serial murderer–oh wait. She meant the actor, John Wayne

Michele Bachmann in the spirit of John Wayne Gacy, clown serial killer

Michele Bachmann made another gaffe today in Waterloo, Iowa, where she announced her run for President of the United States.   After repeatedly telling people she was born in Waterloo, Iowa, which she credits with giving her her conservative roots, she went on to pay tribute to John Wayne, the actor being from Waterloo, (which he's not)–but ended up gaffing big time comparing herself to the spirit of a serial killer who murdered 33 people:

But in one interview surrounding her formal campaign rollout, the Tea Party favorite seems to have gotten a little confused about some of the finer points of the Hawkeye State’s history.

Speaking to Fox News, Bachmann said that she had the same spirit as Waterloo’s own John Wayne. One can only assume that she was referring to the movie star, who was born in Winterset, Iowa, roughly a three-hour drive from Waterloo. The problem, however, is that Waterloo appears to have much closer ties to serial killer John Wayne Gacy, the "killer clown" who had his first criminal conviction there.

The Washington Times with the details:

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.

Here was the quote in question:

"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," she said.

Last time we heard, she had the Spirit of God telling her to run for President.  It's all so confusing.

The New York Magazine updated that Bachmann repeated the gaffe on NBC News:

Update: Bachmann repeated the mistake to NBC News, so it wasn't a matter of misspeaking.

"I'm not pining for nostalgia back in the 50s and 60s, that isn't it," she told NBC's Kelly O'Donnell. "But that sensibility about how we were grounded here is so important. For instance, another American that was born in Waterloo was John Wayne. We were a very patriotic 'yay rah rah America' city and nation and I think that's what America's looking for again."

Bachman"s campaign has pointed out that John Wayne's parents lived in Waterloo for a time, which is obviously irrelevant.

Dakota O'Leary

Dakota O'Leary is a freethinker, and often sassy, scholar of theology and literature. She got her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Theology from the State University of New York College at Buffalo, and her Master of Arts degree in Theology and Literature from Antioch University-Midwest. She is a contributing writer focusing on eschatology, biblical prophecy, and general religious news. Dakota is a co-host of the God Discussion radio show, offering insight to the news stories of the week. We like to call her "our in-house Biblical prophecy expert" as her articles on eschatology have received over 200,000 views on God Discussion.

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

  • http://www.houseofbetazed.com Mriana

    She probably does have that sort of spirit since she is worse than Patin Place Palin. She scares me more than Patin Place Palin.

    BTW, is that Steven King's IT in that picture?

    • http://www.goddiscussion.com Dakota O'Leary

      It kind of DOES look like Pennywise, doesn't it?? :)