Obama's New Hashtag: #WhatsRomneyHiding
A campaign tweet attempts to make Romney's undisclosed Bain holdings go viral.
| Posted Friday, April 6, 2012, at 1:47 PM
Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
Introducing: the negative campaign hashtag.
A Thursday Washington Post story on Mitt Romney's use of a loophole to avoid disclosing some of his financial holdings prompted the campaign to take to Twitter in an attempt to make the story go viral:
"So what's Romney hiding? Tweet @MittRomney to demand he release his tax returns. #WhatsRomneyHiding"
Unsurprisingly, the hashtag caught on, but maybe not in exactly the way the Obama campaign had hoped. Democrats, of course, did exactly as asked, but the hashtag was soon hijacked by conservatives who figured out the best way to combat the hashtag was to make fun of it, notes Buzzfeed.
Although there is no indication that Romney has broken any rules by disclosing incomplete information, the Post notes that "by offering a limited description of his assets, Romney has made it difficult to know precisely where his money is invested, whether it is offshore or in controversial companies, or whether those holdings could affect his policies or present any conflicts of interest."
The Hill quotes a statement from Obama campaign manager Jim Messina claiming that Romney "has put his personal financial assets in a black box and hid the key attempting to play by a different set of rules than any candidate in recent history."
Obama has apparently launched his campaign against Romney this week, specifically naming him for the first time in an official presidential speech while criticizing the Romney-supported Ryan budget plan.
