Forget the battle between the 1% and the 99%—the real war at the Democratic National Convention is between those who have bacon and those who don’t.
According to the Iowa delegation—which hails from one of the nation’s largest pork-producing states—Democratic delegation breakfasts are sorely lacking in the bacon department. Since arriving late last week, the delegation has had only eggs and pastries to nosh on before hitting the convention floor.
That has caused a stir, with Iowa delegates even complaining to the media. “We’re from Iowa and we don’t get meat? How is that supposed to be,” one disappointed Democrat told the Des Moines Register.
One angry Iowan even threatened civil disobedience. “I think we’re all a little distracted by current events and things that are happening here,” he told reporters. “But we could formulate a little something later today—the Bacon March.”
The real reason for the bacon shortage is fairly simple: the Iowa Democratic Party didn’t want to shell out the extra $700 per day for breakfast meats, a financial decision they say puts them ahead of other states because it allows them to use that money for mailings, fundraisers and election activities.
But the skimpy breakfasts have also made the Iowa delegation a DNC menace. Since other delegations staying in the same hotel have “sausage, bacon, hash browns, stuff like that,” the Iowans have been skipping out on their meals and stealing—errrr…redistributing the wealth—from other delegations. According to the Register, several Iowans were caught nabbing maple breakfast sausages from Wisconsin’s buffet.
But the delegations don’t have to turn to petty theft to get a taste of porky goodness: Several Philly area restaurants have bacon-centric specials going on, just for the convention. The famous Red Owl Tavern is serving up bacon burgers with pints of beer for a cool $20.16, which should definitely fit even cost-conscious Midwestern budgets.
