Bachmann's miscues keep piling up

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Misstatements big and small keep adding up in Republican U.S. presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann's campaign, political observers say.

Some of her gaffes -- such as mixing up actor John Wayne with serial killer John Wayne Gacy on the day she entered the campaign in June -- are only groaners, but others – such as saying a vaccine against a sexually transmitted disease caused mental retardation -- are campaign-damaging, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

During a campaign swing in Iowa recently, the Minnesota congresswoman, citing a report she said she heard, stated that 59,000 undocumented immigrants entered the United States "from Yemen, from Syria. These are nations that are state sponsors of terror."

The State Department says Yemen is not a state sponsor of terrorism, and the Border Patrol report Bachmann referenced said only 663 of the 59,000 apprehended illegal immigrants from nations other than Mexico had ties to countries that have links to terrorism, the Times reported.

Asked about her misstatements, the Bachmann campaign provided information unrelated to the statements questioned, the Times said.

When asked about her position on the Second Amendment during a rally in Estherville, Iowa, Bachmann said she supported Americans' rights to own guns and that she had a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Then she said, "I don't believe in the U.N. taking that right away from us, as well. There are international treaties that want to do that."

The United Nations is drafting an arms treaty aimed at stemming illegal international gun sales. While gun manufacturers expressed concern that such a treaty could lead to broader gun registration, only a small number said Americans could have their guns stripped by the United Nations, which has no authority over constitutional rights.

After making a splash by winning the Iowa Straw Poll, Bachmann's popularity has slipped in both straw and public opinion polls.

Her Federal Election Commission filings for the third quarter indicated she raised $4.1 million for the reporting period.