Just after Michele Bachmman announced her presidential candidacy in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, Monday morning, 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." But The Washington Times' Stephen Dinan reports that Bachmann got her John Waynes mixed up. The rugged manly-man movie star was born in Winterset, Iowa, three hours away. The John Wayne that Waterloo was home to is John Wayne Gacy, the "killer clown" who murdered 33 young men in the 1970s.
The first time Gacy was convicted of a crime was in Waterloo, in 1968, when he was convicted of attempted homosexual assault. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He later moved back to Illinois, where he began murdering people.
The New Republic's Brad Plumer jokes, "Proud to be here at the birthplace of America's favorite sitcom dad, Ted Bundy."
And Andy Daglas has this contribution: "Michele Bachmann compares herself to great patriots of old, like Sam Adams and his celebrated offspring, Son of Sam."
Here is the video of Bachmann on Fox News:
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Elspeth Reeve


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