Romney Heckled by Liberal Activists at Iowa Fair

The Democratic National Committee is circulating this Associated Press report about Mitt Romney's "shouting match with crowd at Iowa fair." The AP reports:

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney faced a rowdy crowd at the Iowa State Fair Thursday, with people interrupting his answers to chant "Wall Street greed" and him snapping "corporations are people, my friend."

One questioner asked the GOP presidential candidate what he would do to strengthen Social Security. The voter didn't like Romney's pledge not to raise taxes, and interrupted him.

Romney pointed angrily at the crowd and told them to give him a chance to answer. After a minutes-long exchange with Romney and the crowd shouting over each other, Romney said, "If you want to speak, you can. But it's my turn."

Who might these voters and questioners be? Have your typical Iowa fairgoers turned on Romney in particular or Republicans in general? The AP doesn't say, but Slate's Dave Weigel reports (surprise, surprise) that the hecklers were liberal activists: "Twelve people from/volunteers with Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, a liberal think tank, positioned themselve[s] in the front of the crowd and got four questions in to the former governor."

Watch Weigel's video of Romney vs. the hecklers:

Romney seems animated, yes, but not exactly "angry" as the AP reported. For a candidate accused of having a wooden personality, spirited confrontations like this probably help.

Democrats are hammering Romney for defending corporations. But he's standing behind his remarks. "Do folks think corporations are buildings?" Romney aide Eric Fehrnstrom wrote on Twitter. "They're people who incorporate to conduct business. They create jobs and hire more people."