In a release replete with the salty trash-talking language that defines Roll Call’s Taste of America contest , Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, says the votes among the remaining eight foodstuffs shouldn’t even be close and that bacon rightfully rules the world.  

“Katy Perry called bacon the ‘meat candy of the world’ and she’s a vegan for crying out loud. Watching bacon lose to one of these second-tier foods would be an injustice,” the Senate hopeful says in the release that went out with the subject line: “Braley: Don’t Go Bacon my Heart.”  

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQmRgFzg0jI&list=RDEQmRgFzg0jI#t=0  

Aside from the Elton John/Kiki Dee duet play on words, we have to admire Braley for the brazenness of his appeal. This is raw (or cooked) regional culinary pride, topped out by his office’s claim that “while there are many proud and tasty culinary traditions in the world, they all pale in comparison to the amazingness of bacon.”  

Or, as Braley states in the release: “Look, I like a good casserole as much as the next guy, and I have a great working relationship with my friend Cheri Bustos from Illinois — but a contest between deep dish pizza and Bacon is no contest at all — bacon wins running away.”  

Voting ends Friday and the winners will be announced on June 25 at the 53rd Annual Roll Call Congressional Baseball Game .  

And, returning to Braley’s “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” reference, we’d be remiss if we didn’t also provide the following cover of it by John Travolta and Captain and Tennille.  

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0zBZh4S2w4