Jeb Bush's Hashtag Campaign is Totally Backfiring
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In an effort to revitalize what many view as a floundering campaign, GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush is attempting a campaign relaunch, which consists of the release of an e-book, the unveiling of a new campaign slogan, and the Twitter hashtag #JebCanFixIt. Unfortunately, the hashtag seems to have backfired.
Wired magazine reports that Internet users have essentially hijacked the hashtag, throwing another glitch into the former Florida governor's run for office. The hashtag was released Monday and here were just some of the responses:
Thought #JebCanFixIt was him comparing himself to Bob the Builder. I just want to know what his favorite tool is
— Garrett Sawyer (@garrettmsawyer) November 2, 2015Wired points out that the failure of Bush's hashtag might be due to its forced nature. In other words, Bush is just trying too hard (to the delight of the above social media users).
According to Wired, Candidates with the most success with online communities typically stay away from trying to create popular social media content themselves but rather, allow the Internet and their supporters do that for them. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' hashtag #FeelTheBern and Babies for Bernie were both generated by his supporters and not methodically packaged by his campaign team.
Related: Babies Everywhere are Impersonating Bernie Sanders
Here other candidates in GOP also trying to wield the powers of social media platforms:
Newsweek/Hanna Sender - newsweek.com
But the flop of #JebCanFixIt also shows the difficulty that politicians have in being able to convey their message to audiences in the Digital Age.
Even with the poor debate performances and a suffering campaign, Jeb Bush told National Public Radio that he is still optimistic.
"I'm gonna work hard to earn people's support," Bush said. "I knew this would be a long journey, but to suggest that the campaign is terminal? C'mon."
According to the Washington Times Bush currently ranks in sixth place in a Real Clear Politics Poll.
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