Politicians May Miss Twinkies Least

High-calorie snack, deep-fried, are a staple of Iowa campaign trips

The Twinkie may yet be saved. Hostess Brands and its second largest union will go into mediation to try and resolve their differences. But there are probably at least a few past and future presidential candidates who wish the iconic spongy snack would meet its demise.

Deep-fried Twinkies are a staple of the Iowa State Fair, where presidential candidates frequently troll for votes. Twinkies join Snickers bars, cheesecake and other high-calorie confections as local delicacies. "It is a vast, sweet, savory, shameless wonderland that operates on its own terms for 11 days each August," The New York Times reported in August.

Iowa's role as a key Electoral College battleground can only increase the pressure for candidates to sample the local delicacies. Still, President Obama managed to resist. "We're going to be heading east and I think I'm going to end at the State Fair," the president said during an August campaign swing in Iowa. "Michelle has told me I cannot have a fried Twinkie. But I will be checking out the butter cow and I understand this year there's a chocolate moose. So I'm going to have to take a look at that if I can."

Obama's 2008 rival, Sen. John McCain is lamenting the Twinkie's potential demise, particularly the fried variety. "Twinkies maker Hostess closes - what will we do without deep fried Twinkies at the #Iowa State Fair?" McCain tweeted on Nov. 16.

Via The New York Times, Des Moines Register and Politix analysis.

Would you like to see Twinkies disappear or be saved?

[CanisCanemEdit]

Hmmmm. With Mrs. Obama's national push to better eating and better health could that be one of the reasons no help was offered to bail out the 18,0000 union members that are now hitting the unemployment line?

[Zoe2012]

She looks like she likes Twinkies!

[bsking]

@Zoe2012 I agree. Michelle Obama is not the optimal spokesperson for good nutrition . that's why you never see any camera shots of her walking away.

[Cool_voter]

@bsking so when did this become about the obamas...
Can't you just stick to an issue?
Better yet answer those questions you always run away from, why was Romney the better choice... What was his tax plan... Why doesn't anyone answer me...

[Hireman]

@Cool_voter The article didn't mention Romney or taxes either. Maybe that's why you're not getting answers: You're calling the kettle "black"

[Cool_voter]

@Hireman no bs king runs around saying ridiculous things and never seems to stick around to answer them.
From post to post... I just want him to back up all the crap he spews.
People should be held accountable for their words and actions... Just saying

[DerivePI]

I've always been more particular to our local Tastykake treats.

[PNWest]

I may disagree with your politics but you have very good taste in snack foods. I love their chocolate cupcakes and butterscotch krimpets. Yum!

[DerivePI]

@PNWest - Let them eat Kake!

[Jeff_Woehrle]

So the pigheaded union gets another shot at redemption! They may yet see the light that a lower-paying job is better than no job.

For me, I'd much prefer that the brands get sold off and made in Mexico or China. Maybe that will be a teachable moment for the union cheerleaders who have trouble with simple concepts like those in play here.

I heard that one union rule required that Wonder Bread and Twinkies never be loaded on the same truck.

And folks genuinely wonder why Hostess couldn't make a go of it.

[CanisCanemEdit]

@ Jeff - Found this on another website. Originally posted during the January bankruptcy hearing:

Hostess began in 1930 as Interstate Baking Company in Kansas City, Missouri. Over the years, it acquired 44 other baking companies, and in doing so, finds itself today with 372 different union contracts.

The Unions demand a host of complex labor rules that the company deems inefficient.

Example:

Union work rules mandate that separate trucks must deliver bread and cake productsd.

Because of this union rule trucks only partially loaded make the same stops on the same day to the same retailers. This doubles the vehicle and fuel costs for nearly 42% of all deliveries.

Example:

Union mandates that separate workers must load the trucks and additional workers must make final deliveries once a truck arrives at a supermarket.

One half load of Wonder Bread requires a driver who must only drive, and an unloader who must ride with the driver and only unload. Manpower downtime (people sitting doing nothing but collecting pay) accounts for over 36% of all union payroll.

Example:

Unions demand that Hostess pay just over $100 million annually to some 40 multiemployer pension plans that cover workers at a wide array of companies other than its own.

Hostess wants to switch to a so-called single employer plan that covers only its own workers. The Unions refuse.

[Jeff_Woehrle]

@CanisCanemEdit Stunning. Absolutely stunning.

Yeah, the investment bankers must have killed this business.

America is getting dumber by the minute.

[PuroChorizo361]

Let it die to show others who really is in charge. Without no slave labor there will be no money to be made.

[CanisCanemEdit]

@PuroChorizo361 - "Slave labor"? Hmmmmm.

The average 8% "reduced" wage rate for any of the bakers in BCTGM Local 103 that served 82% of Hostess Bakeries is currently $20.18 to $43.84 (dependent on seniority) per hour plus 2 - 4 weeks (dependent on seniority) paid vacation annually plus 14 paid holidays per year plus Medical/Dental/Vision 80% paid by Hostess.

Don't much sound like slave labor to me.

[PuroChorizo361]

@CanisCanemEdit Pleaseeeeee like if that's believable....... If so then the profit margin must be through the roof huh?

[Zoe2012]

Oh, saved but what about the Zingers? I love Dolly Madison Zingers!

[Zoe2012]

Off topic but have you noticed Hersey and made out of country candy bars?

[DARSB]

I think Eli Lily, the largest manufacturer of insulin, should buy the bakeries just to keep up demand for their profitable product. :-)

[RobertJHarsh]

AWESOME point. I didn't even think of that. You sir, get the post of the day award. I still want my ZINGERS!

[Blessed]

Mochelle and her one size fits all, 200 calorie school lunches needs to set an example and stay away from Iowa. When she diets out of her size 16 and quits eating lavishly in South of France, I might have an ounce of respect for the Twinkie-lover's lunch program.

[Rocker]

My knee jerk reactions are:
* That the politicians could give a diddly-squat what we like which is evidence of their disconnection with reality, and
* They have a little bigger fish to fry just now than dickering around with Hostess business.

[Bobolinsky]

On the topic of unions killing the egg-laying goose... Take a gander at Illinois and their wonderful public-sector union employee pension fund.

Illinois governor announces ‘Squeezy, the pension python’ to highlight state’s pension woes

"“Illinois has the worst-funded pension system in America,” Brook Anderson, the governor’s press spokeswoman, told The Daily Caller."

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/19/illinois-go...

[jessejaymes]

I haven't had a twinkie for more than 40 years. I sympathize with the workers with this Bain capital type churn and burn (and that's exactly what happened here, in bankruptcy 3 times in 5 years and each year the Investment Capital companies made huge profits) but I won't miss the twinkie at all. Might be a good thing if EPT cards couldn't buy junk food.

[commonsense51]

There's your unions for you. They will see a company go under rather than accept what a company can pay. They think they should make more than the rest of us with better pensions, healthcare, etc. Typical Democrats.

[1adam2]

well to tell you the truth, i dislike the idea of 18,000 jobs disappearing. reguardless of what edible product, they produce. my concern is for the employees, not necessarily for the twinkie. nor do i care for, the union wrecking ball either. unions cannot stand for fairness, if they are constantly eliminating employment.