First there were yard signs, then bumper stickers and t-shirts, and now all you need to do to #getpolitical is throw a hashtag into your tweets.
On Wednesday the White House asked Americans concerned about the fiscal cliff negotiations who support the Obama tax plan to tweet about it, using the hashtag #My2k. The number was chosen because $2,220 is the average tax increase a family is expected to pay if the Bush-era middle class tax cuts aren’t extended. The White House kicked off their campaign — appropriately — with a tweet.
“Call your members of Congress. Write them an email. Tweet it using the hashtag #My2k.” —President Obama
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 28, 2012
So far the president’s tweet has been retweeted over 4,500 times. #My2k was a trending topic on Twitter Wednesday evening, averaging a new tweet every second. Earlier in the day, the Heritage Foundation paid for a “promoted” tweet using the #My2k hashtag that linked to an article outlining the opposition to the White House position.
MUST-READ: 4 Reasons Warren Buffett Is Wrong on Tax Hikes!herit.ag/SaGWuJ #imnotafanof
— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) November 27, 2012
That one’s been retweeted 238 times. But a success nonetheless — those searching Twitter for the #My2k hashtag on Wednesday saw the Heritage Foundation’s rebuttal tweet at the top of the list all day long.
This wasn’t the first time the White House has asked Americans to use hashtags to show their support for legislation in the past.
Pres Obama has launched other hashtag campaigns: #40dollars for payroll tax holiday & #dontdoublemyrate for student loan interest rate bill.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) November 28, 2012
The New York Times reports that there will likely be more presidential tweeting and Facebook posting in the next four years. The Obama team views his second term as a second chance to activate his supporters in a way that never materialized during his first term.
Mr. Obama’s aides are trying to harness the passions that returned him to the White House, hoping to pressure Republicans in Congress to accept tax increases on the wealthy. The president’s strategists are turning first to the millions of e-mail addresses assembled by the campaign and the White House.
Already, supporters are being asked to record YouTube videos of themselves talking about the importance of raising taxes on the rich. Aides said those videos would be shared on Facebook and Twitter and would be forwarded to centrist Democrats, as well as to mainstream Republicans, who they hope will break with their Tea Party colleagues.
What’s your take? What would your #fiscalcliff #My2k tweet be? Send us your thoughts in the comments.
