Bachmann looks to emulate serial killer

washingtonmonthly ^ | 6/27/11 | Steve Benen

[American Dream 246]

Rep. Michele Bachmann, the unhinged Republican presidential candidate, desperately wants the public to believe she’s a “serious person,” and not at all a “flake.” She could start by avoiding mistakes like these.

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.

Yep, here’s the video.

The right-wing congresswoman told Fox News, “[W]hat I want them to know is, just like John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That’s the kind of spirit that I have, too.”

John Wayne is from Iowa, but not Waterloo. Bachmann is apparently confusing John Wayne and John Wayne Gacy. The former was a movie star; the latter killed 33 people.

In September 2009, railing against health care reform, Bachmann told Republican activists, “What we have to do today is make a covenant, to slit our wrists,” because “something is way crazy out there.”

If Bachmann has “the spirit” of a serial killer, that quote seems to make more sense than it did at the time.

[Glenn]

I'm starting to get a little pissed off here.

[driftdiver]

wow thats important,

some people need to get a life

[American Dream 246]

Seems to me Rollins is doing a great job! Concord, MA with Concord, NH. Sarah is so right to wait and watch. Too funny.

[American Dream 246]

As important as all the crap they did to Sarah since 3 years. Just be fair, huh?

[pfflier]

..the unhinged Republican presidential candidate..

Do you think this is a hint about what would follow?

[EGPWS]

She could start by avoiding mistakes like these.

1) Giving up conviction for what is right because of fear of media lies and the pressure some feel because of it.

She hasn't.

Now be a good little news twister and move along sh!thead.

[Pharmboy]

John Wayne's parents lived in Waterloo, IA before he was born and moved to another town in IA where he was actually born. BFD. They're becoming unhinged...and scared. I love it.

[preacher]

The MSM never mentions these gaffes:

http://obamasgaffes.blogspot.com/

[Pearls Before Swine]

The article starts “Rep. Michele Bachmann, the unhinged Republican presidential candidate...”

No bias here!

[Aevery_Freeman]

As a man, I had hoped we boys had out grown this petty little abusing that we did to girls back in the playground.

I told my wife that adult men could accept competition from a female with grace and equality. Well, stick a fork in me!

[Wolfstar]

Wow! The author isn’t reaching much. *rolls eyes*

I like Bachmann. Kind of ambitious and audacious for a member of the House to run for president, but she has a lot to contribute to the dialogue of the race. I’m glad she’s in it.

[cripplecreek]

We men have.

[American Dream 246]

I am sorry all but I used to like her but attacking Sarah (letting Rollins do it is same for me) after what Sarah did for her to win her re-election was a bridge too far for me. Plus, she, like a lot of others, did not budge when the whole country was accusing Sarah of being a murderer after Tucson? Is that the character you want for your president? I was the first one to be surprised but that’s who Bachmann is and more I know her more I sure don’t like what I am seeing.

[RegulatorCountry]

That doesn’t make him “from” there. It makes Bachmann sound disingenuous, trying to claim knowlege of some hometown hero who is in fact claimed by Winterset, Iowa. The house is a landmark and there are signs all over town. She just looked like an interloper to people from Waterloo, and angered people from Winterset.

It may not sound important to you as an outsider, but in trying to go back to her “roots” for her announcement, and then undermining it with a false statement and an embarassing one, is going to hurt her in that state.

The good people of Winterset are quite proud of being the birthplace and original hometown of John Wayne. They’ve got a museum, events, all sorts of things. Check it out:

http://www.johnwaynebirthplace.org

[rabidralph]

I’ve been wondering about that for the past three years. Why are men finding it so hard to behave as gentlemen? But it’s no different from all the griping that goes on when a woman finds herself in combat.

[kcvl]

Steve Benen

This is what punk ass so called journalist consider so called news. Never mind the stupid bastard in the White house who can't recite his name without a TelePrompTer!

Pardon me while I puke.(p> He is a frequent guest on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show and an occasional contributor to the New York Daily News.

He was an intern in Bill Clinton's White House Office of Speechwriting. In 1996, he was the communications director for an unsuccessful Democratic congressional campaign in Pennsylvania. From 1997 to 2002, Benen worked in the communications department at Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.

[kcvl]

Bill Clinton’s former intern:

stevebenen (Steve Benen)

stevebenen Remember when Bachmann told Tea Partiers to “slit our wrists”? Suddenly, that quote makes more sense http://bit.ly/mu1iFj
about 5 hours ago

stevebenen Jeff Sessions (R-AL) thinks GOP would benefit if debt talks were public. I’d like to test that theory http://bit.ly/mF4t8d
about 7 hours ago

stevebenen Wallace regrets asking Bachmann, ‘Are you a flake?’ http://bit.ly/iHdtkX Bachmann’s offended, but it’s a fair question
about 11 hours ago

stevebenen Ignore the Reagan, Clinton, Bush, & Obama eras, and the right’s economic assumptions are quite sound http://bit.ly/ilVGB5
2 days ago

stevebenen Key difference between Romney & the guy in Romney’s attack ad: the guy works for a living http://bit.ly/jp1ILZ
2 days ago

stevebenen NY only the 2nd state to pass marriage equality because it *wanted* to - not because of a court order http://bit.ly/iPirNd
2 days ago

stevebenen Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-WI) $10 million payoff seems like the kind of scandal that could do real damage http://bit.ly/kw3KuJ
3 days ago

stevebenen “Bipartisan”: GOP picks the goal, the solution, what’s on the table, and what Dems can propose http://bit.ly/mrFb6Z
3 days ago

stevebenen Is there anything more satisfying than watching Bernie Sanders explain public policy to Rand Paul? http://bit.ly/iVwhau
4 days ago

stevebenen Cantor won’t do the hard work, so Boehner must http://bit.ly/jDNXvR No one ever said leading a radicalized party is easy
4 days ago

stevebenen The hostage-taker (Cantor) says he’s done talking to the negotiators trying to meet his demands (Dems) http://bit.ly/lhmTIj
4 days ago

stevebenen GOPers divided on troop withdrawals. But what about focusing on “nation building here at home”? http://bit.ly/jQ0z2n
4 days ago

stevebenen Bernanke strongly rejects the GOP’s economic agenda http://bit.ly/lfAQ9i Only the GOP could make Bernanke look liberal
5 days ago

stevebenen Senate Dems raise the ‘sabotage’ question: is the GOP holding back the economy on purpose? http://bit.ly/iIRtEe
5 days ago

stevebenen Who’s right, Jon Stewart or PolitFact? Chris Mooney (http://bit.ly/lOvSch) & I (http://bit.ly/kExJRu) defend Stewart [fixed link]
5 days ago

stevebenen Who’s right, Jon Stewart or PolitFact? Chris Mooney (http://bit.ly/mdwFAe) & I (http://bit.ly/kExJRu) defend Stewart
5 days ago

stevebenen I’m trying to think of a scenario in which Huntsman wins the GOP nomination. I’m coming up empty http://bit.ly/jh6gTq
6 days ago

stevebenen Gutting POTUS’ power: GOP says no recess appointments, no signing statements, & no confirmation votes http://bit.ly/ju87iz
7 days ago

stevebenen McConnell was asked about the GOP jobs agenda. After stumbling, he said the GOP plan is stop Obama http://bit.ly/ipiK1K
7 days ago

stevebenen Chris Wallace said he could “prove” liberal media bias. His indictment couldn’t have been much weaker http://bit.ly/iWjaQx
7 days ago

http://mobile.twitter.com/stevebenen

[Mr. Peabody]

They are unhinged.
They have been driven mad by the failure of their messiah.

[American Dream 246]

http://thespeechatimeforchoosing.blogspot.com/2011/06/bachmann-promises-to-mimic-spirit-of.html

[Pharmboy]

I was not trying to make light of John Wayne OR the good people of Iowa; what struck me was that compared to BHO pronouncing marine corpsman corpseman, they jump on her but he always gets a free pass.

[bigred08]

She is really not bright. What a stupid gaffe. She’s portraying herself as the “hometown girl” but thinks John Wayne grew up there. As a “native” that’s something she should know.

[American Dream 246]

They ARE unhinged. But this type of mistake would be all over the news if it was Sarah - FOR DAYS. Now they are testing the new candidates. That’s good and for once I would call that fair. Of course not and will never be fair that they don’t do that with the one..but this is testing the strength of our candidates - they can’t do anything to Sarah anymore unless she makes the same type of mistake. Hope she will not but if she does, believe me someone will post it here..

[gardencatz]

How hard is it to fact check? The press is always going to be in the corner of whoever the democrat is. We also know they’re gunning for every single candidate. She and her team should be aware of that. Her gaffes WILL be news whether we like it or not.

Cindie

[reefdiver]

I like they they call Her UN HInged, 5 kid's and 20 + She took in and raised, Accomplished, Tea lady, Tax expert 3 term congress critter. She has to go thru the process, but raising so many kids, She knows how to deal with the brats.

[nuconvert]

Gee, what’s worse.....getting the wrong place of birth for John Wayne, or this...

http://wizbangblog.com/content/2011/06/25/coverage-of-obamas-medal-of-honor-mess.php

[kcvl]

Chris Matthews Smears: Bachmann’s Praise for the Founders Equals ‘Slavery

After playing a clip of Michele Bachmann longing for a return to the “Founders’ vision of a constitutionally conservative government,” MSNBC’s Chris Matthews on Monday assumed the Republican presidential candidate meant “slavery.”

The Hardball anchor offered bizarre analogies, questioning former RNC Chair Michael Steele on Bachmann’s 2012 campaign: “What is this, Michael? The Protestant Reformation? That somehow we’re going back to the purity of the original Christian church?”

Immediately jumping to the worst interpretation, Matthews continued, “We’re going back to the original perfection of slaveholders and how perfect they were and government is the enemy. She speaks pure Tea Party lingo.”

NBC: Michele Bachmann Trying to Overcome Her ‘Flame-Thrower Persona’

Reporting on Michele Bachmann officially entering the presidential race on Monday’s NBC Today, correspondent Kelly O’Donnell declared that “step one” for the Minnesota Congresswoman was “redefining [her] public image” by “turning down the flame-thrower persona.”

Following O’Donnell’s report and taped interview with Bachmann, co-host Ann Curry interviewed fellow Republican presidential candidate and former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. Curry asked about Bachmann’s chances: “She has been described as being too far outside the mainstream to be president. You know her. You’re both from Minnesota. Do you agree with that or disagree with that?”

http://m.newsbusters.org/

[cripplecreek]

I am sorry all but I used to like her but attacking Sarah (letting Rollins do it is same for me)

Oh what a steaming pile. One ill advised comment a month ago, since retracted and you pathetic whiney little lying worms cling to it and behave no different from the leftists who attack Palin. You must be very proud of yourselves because you're only helping Romney at this point. Or is that the whole point?

[SoldierDad]

Winterset IA is John Wayne’s birth place (born Marion Robert Morrison, later changed to Marion Mitchell Morrison).

[rintense]

How is avoid mistakes giving up conviction?

[bigred08]

You don’t help your case with the “look at what dumb stuff Obama said” defense. This was a dumb gaffe by Bachmann. In her so-called hometown.

It fits the narrative that she’s not bright.

[NoLibZone]

The Palnization of Bachmann has begun.

The left hates women.

They adore Huma and Hillary because they submit to their philandering husbands.

[Meet the New Boss]

The media claiming that Gacy was from Waterloo is like claiming that John McCain was “from” Vietnam or that Barack Obama was “from” Boston.

Gacy only lived there for two or three years in the 60s. He was actually from Chicago.

The media have to come up with an inaccuracy (that Gacy was “from” Waterloo) in order to claim to trap Bachmann in a gaffe.

[nuconvert]

Excuse me...You obviously missed the point...this latest gaffe by Obama wasn’t just your ordinary dumb mistake like not knowing the town John Wayne was born in....

Obama’s mistake was a HUGE embarrassing statement for him personally, his Office and this entire country.
Not only did he not recall the name of a man whom he posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, he forgot the name of the one and ONLY living recipient of the Medal of Honor from the Iraq & Afghan wars, Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta.

President Obama Presents the Medal of Honor to Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta: “We’re All in Your Debt” (just don’t expect me to actually remember your name)

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/11/16/president-obama-presents-medal-honor-staff-sergeant-salvatore-giunta-we-re-all-your-

Your comment: You don’t help your case with the “look at what dumb stuff Obama said” defense.” Is absurd.
There is absolutely NO comparison.

The MSM would try to equate the 2. A FReeper shouldn’t.

[Matchett-PI]

Media pretty excited over Bachmann’s John Wayne gaffe in Iowa
hot air ^ | 6/27/11 | Allahpundit

Posted on Monday, June 27, 2011 7:59:22 PM by Nachum
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2740769/posts

Watch below courtesy of a YouTube account titled, no joke, “BachmannLovesGacy.”The gaffe: She claimed in an interview with Fox News that she shares the spirit of another famous Waterloo, Iowa, resident, John Wayne.

But John Wayne never lived in Waterloo; John Wayne Gacy did, which means this is either (a) another sloppy factual error a la her claiming that Lexington and Concord are located in New Hampshire or (b) some sort of Freudian slip that proves she secretly identifies with lunatics or something. (Bachmann loves Gacy!)

Her critics will insist they’re sticking to the first narrative but their read on Bachmann has always been that she’s evil and/or nuts. See, e.g., Matt Taibbi’s long profile of Bachmann in Rolling Stone this month asserting that she’s “grandiose crazy, late-stage Kim Jong-Il crazy” or Colbert King recently dismissing her as “Barbie with fangs.”

It’s embarrassing that she wouldn’t know that the Duke lived in Winterset, Iowa, not Waterloo, given that she’s been selling herself over the past few days as a proud Hawkeye, but no one will care in a day.

Without the Gacy angle, though, to nudge along the “she’s nuts” storyline, you probably wouldn’t have heard of this; it would have been dismissed as her mixing up two town names that begin with “W” and that would have been it.

In fact, it’s even lamer than that. It turns out there is a Waterloo connection for John Wayne:

Bachmann’s campaign pointed out to ABC News today that actor John Wayne’s parents did live in Waterloo, although the actor himself did not.

And a little internet research proves that point correct.

According to the book “Duke: We’re Glad We Knew You” by Herb Fagen, Clyde and Molly Morrison – actor John Wayne’s parents – lived in Waterloo early in their marriage – but they moved to Winterset before the birth of son Marion Mitchell Morrison (he changed his name to John Wayne professionally).

Says Dave Weigel, “I’m not from a small town, but I’m from a pretty anonymous place (Wilmington, Delaware), and I know that when you’ve got a tenuous local connection to a celebrity, you flaunt it.”

Someone probably once told her that John Wayne’s parents met in Waterloo and either she wrongly assumed he’d been born there or else she’s fumbling a talking point about John Wayne’s family being from Waterloo. But this is simply too stupid a story to devote any further thought to, so let’s move on.

A horse-race question for you, then, on the day of her big announcement. Is she actually performing better in Iowa than she might like right now? Trailing Romney by a single point after her big splash at the debate is a sensational debut, especially since he won’t be competing hard in the state.

Her net favorable rating is the highest in the field at +53; by comparison, Rick Perry is at +35 and Palin is at +21. If her “Hawkeye pride” campaign catches fire there and she starts to build a big lead over the next few weeks with the Ames straw poll looming in August, why wouldn’t the rest of the field simply concede the state to her and move on to New Hampshire and South Carolina?

Rick Perry’s reportedly already hedging his bets in Iowa, and even T-Paw could conceivably bail out early and spin Bachmann’s big win as simple favoritism for the hometown girl. That would diminish the momentum she’ll get from winning the caucuses; it’ll also sharpen the establishment’s focus on South Carolina as the place to stop Bachmann, which will help Pawlenty insofar as he stands a better chance there on paper than Romney does.

That in turn might convince big donors to line up for T-Paw before New Hampshire to give him a strong showing there before the race heads to the south. She wants to (and has to) win Iowa, no doubt, but I’m not sure she wants an early walkover.

[wildbill]

These kinds of gaffes stem from bad staff work. A politician trusts the staff to do ‘due diligence’ on all the little factoids they give them to regurgitate during the campaign to reassure the locals that they are really knowledgeable about their area and problems.

All pols make these mistakes. Some get picked up by the oppositiona and/or the media and ballyhooed as big deals.

The way to avoid them is fire staff and get better.

[SideoutFred]

Agree entirely. I said months ago she has no real chance and stated it again last week. The sooner she is out, the better.

It’s probably going to be Romney, and I know that ticks a lot of people off, but if he can beat Obama that’s all I care about. I’d rather have Romney over Obama then Obama winning again vs a more “conservative” candidate that has no shot.

[Sir Francis Dashwood]

You’re full of it...

Romney won’t win...

Women hold the key to this election and unfortunately the men are too busy playing with their wee wees.

You will see Marine Le Pen elected in France and you will see either Michelle or Sarah in the White House.

Which is fine with me...

It’s about time these neutered, metrosexual liberal men stepped aside. They have turned into pussies on every issue from faggot marriage to illegal aliens.

[A CA Guy]

I hope you are pissed off enough that she was so unprepared while announcing her run.
That was amateur and she wasn’t even under fire.

I hope Palin really goes in now, I thought Bachmann was the reason she wasn’t in, but now she has open waters to dive in IMO.

[allsouthern]

If Palin doesnt run, Romney will win.

[Carl Vehse]

Steve Benen’s behavior is not that of an adult, nor, it seems, that of a man. From that one can draw his own conclusions about Steve Benen.

[jpsb]

Well, she did say immediately before mis speaking that she was afraid the white house would not sanction what NORTH KOREA was doing. So it is obvious that she mis spoke.

Care to try again?

[Sir Francis Dashwood]

No, Romney will lose...

I won’t vote for him.

I left the Republican party when they nominated McCain...

I am having less and less in common with the GOP.... Faggot marriages, illegal aliens, obamacare, glowbull warming, the list goes on and on and on...

I like hard edged women... these metrosexual, wimpy men are the ruin of the party and the country.

All the men seem to do is play with their wee wees instead of standing up for our beliefs - - which is what they were elected to do in the first place.

[not2worry]

JMHO but it’s gaffs like this that have lead to the Chris Wallace “flakey” question. Sorry, but when you are from a small town we know who was born here and it’s part of our pride. Bachman should have known better.

[allsouthern]

Dont get me wrong, Im not for Romney and when it cones to the GOP, I feel the same, but if I dont see the weak candidates running now beating Romney much less Obama.

[Free Vulcan]

This guy takes douchebaggery to a high art form.

[Syncro]

So you think that Rollin's comment some weeks ago was all he has done for Bachmann?

If he is still working for her, you can bet he and his staff are advising her on what to say, and doing the “research” to guide her to oblivion.

I'm thinking they are like McCain's staff when Palin was on the ticket with McCain when they did all they could to marginalize her after she injected the campaign with a much needed boost.

Rollins will go to work for Romney when he is finished destroying Bachmann. Not that he isn't already working for him...he is a BIG GOP guy, and no way he wants Bachmann or Palin as the nominee

Wildbill, yup she needs to fire her incompetent staff if they can't keep up with their jobs.