Rep. Paul Ryan as Vice-President Pick: Snap Blue Iowa Survey Shows Democrats Galvanizing

Iowa Democrats say they are as excited as Republicans about Mitt Romney's selection of Rep. Paul Ryan as his vice-presidential running mate.

Twenty Democrats offered their opinions in a snap Blue Iowa survey that looks at the mood of influential party members as campaigning for the general election heats up.

A full 90 percent of those taking part in the survey said they agreed strongly or somewhat that Romney's decision to choos Ryan as his vice-presidential candiate will galvanize Iowa Democrats. In contrast, only 56 percent of them thought Ryan would help galvanize Republicans.

That may be due in part because of the same factors that a : The ability of Democrats to run against Ryan's proposed budget plans to overhaul Medicare and slash the federal budget by more than $5 trillion over the next 10 years.

"He offers the Obama campaign an opportunity to continue to speak to Romney's desire to help the upper class, as that is what Ryan's plan does," said one Democrat. "For that reason, it really does not change the race significantly."

Said another: This guy is slimy and the poster child for everything wrong with the tea-strain of Republicans. Should help make the choice more clear, I think."

The 20 Democrats responding to the Blue Iowa survey are a mix of current and former office holders, party leaders, candidates and activists. The survey was inspired by academic research that showed endorsements by party "actors" at all levels are a critical leading indicator of primary presidential elections.

From the responses, it appears the Democrats are ready to pounce on Ryan's stances on the budget and Medicare.

Not a single respondent disagreed with the statement that Iowa Democrats can win by running against Ryan's stance on those issues and on his plans for Social Security, which he has said is in need of change.

"How can he say things about Social Security when he, personally, was provided funding from them when growing up?" asked one Democrat. "Is it only good for folks like him?"

Participants in Red Iowa and Blue Iowa are noted, but their answers are kept confidential. If you’d like to take part in either survey, contact Iowa Regional Editor Todd Richissin at todd.richissin@patch.com.

Blue Iowa Lineup: Jan Bauer, Abishek Vemuri, Beth Wessel Krochell, Wayne Clinton, Tom Beell, Jim Gaunt, Ethan Fredricke, Don Zuck, Bob Kressig, Jeff Danielson, Pat Sass, Don Page, Pam Gross, Tavis Hall, Sally Browne, Roger White, Terry Dahms, Sarah Swisher, Katherine Valde, Mike Carbrerry, Caroline Dieterle, Scott Syroka, Virginia Soelberg, Marcia Nichols, Judy Anderson, Tom Leffler, Bill Unger, Pat Walters, Mari Hall, George Lake, Seth Moomey, Amber Mussman, Cody Crawford, Jan McCool, Mary Polson, Dan Cataldi, Kris Winters, Mike Newell, Rick Smith, Carl Johnson, Gail Kotoval, David Leonard, Julie Zeisman, Eric Brenneman, Sue Ellen Kennedy, Joe Shanahan, Laurie Belin, Saundra Ragona, Kathi Phillips, Karen Moriarity.