Romney faces hecklers at Iowa State Fair
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DES MOINES – Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney this morning faced a hostile crowd at the Iowa State Fair, being shouted down at times and heckled by a boisterous group opposing cuts to government programs and thirsting for increased taxes on the wealthy.
“Corporations are people, my friend,’’ Romney said at one point, failing to silence protestors who continued to challenge him. “Of course they are. Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to people. Where do you think it goes?’’
“It goes into their pockets!’’ some shouted back.
“Whose pockets?’’ Romney said. “People’s pockets. Ok. Human beings, my friend.’’
The exchange was the culmination of a terse back-and-forth that Romney had with about a dozen opponents in the front of the crowd.
The former Massachusetts governor, with two American flags behind him and bales of hay in front of him, was the first presidential hopeful to speak at the annual state fair, a gathering point for prospective voters in the first presidential caucus state.
Romney and seven rivals for the GOP nomination against President Obama will be in nearby Ames tonight for a debate. Other candidates are slated to take the state fair stage tomorrow, and most – though not Romney – are returning to Ames on Saturday for the quadrennial Iowa Straw Poll.
The tense encounters came after Romney delivered a 10-minute address, and when he began to take questions from the audience. Romney’s campaign events are normally carefully choreographed, so it marked a rare unscripted moment in his presidential bid.
The crowd appeared to be largely pro-Romney, but a group at the front challenged him a number of times. One man, Joe Fagan, a 71-year-old registered Democrat from Des Moines, rose from his seat and angrily jabbed his finger at Romney.
“What are you going to do to strengthen Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid without cutting benefits?’’ he yelled.
“You ready for my answer?’’ Romney retorted. “I’m not going to raise taxes. That’s my answer. And if you want someone that will raise taxes you can vote for Barack Obama.’’
One man yelled out, “A lie!’’ at one of Romney’s answers. At another point, the group began chanting, “Wall street greed! Wall street greed!’’ after Romney said he would not raise taxes.
“Hold on just a moment. Hold on just a moment. Hold on just a moment!’’ Romney shouted at one point, when the crowd began to overtake him. “You get to ask your question, I get to give my answer. If you don’t like my answer, you can vote for someone else.’’
Later, as he walked around the State Fair – shaking hands and guessing the ages of young children – Romney declined repeated questions from reporters about the altercation during his speech. He did take time out to flip pork chops on a grill, and later eat a pork chop on a stick.
“Pork chop on a stick – it doesn’t get any better than that,’’ he said at least three times.
With a nationally televised debate tonight on Fox News, and the Iowa Straw Poll in Ames on Saturday, Iowa has become a hive of presidential political activity this week. Several other candidates stopped by the Iowa State Fair today, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman.
Huntsman walked around with his wife and daughter Gracie Mei. He viewed a cow made of butter, and signed a giant card wishing that cow a 100th birthday. He got an apple cider slush from a vendor, shook hands with voters, and chatted with reporters.
“I love Iowa. We’ll see where the campaign takes us. But the debate is here, obviously, and we have three early primary states that we have a laserlike focus on.’’
It marked the first time Huntsman has visited Iowa this year, and his focus remains tightly trained on New Hampshire. Both he and Romney are skipping the Ames Straw Poll here, and instead returning to the Granite State tomorrow.
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