This Halloween when the streets of your hometown look more like Sesame Street then suburbia, there is one person to thank: Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
During the first presidential debate in Denver on October 3, Mitt Romney decided to discuss his plan to cut what he considers non-essential items to the budget. “I’m going to stop the subsidy to PBS. I’m going to stop other things,” Romney said. “I like PBS, I like Big Bird.”
Social media immediately picked up on the “zinger” by Romney with Big Bird continuing as a trending topic even hours after the debate. A week later, with the media’s focus shifted towards the upcoming VP debate, new job numbers and information out of Libya, the backlash about Big Bird still continues to have a lasting impact. Big Bird has inspired memes, Democratic campaign ads, and t-shirts. The famous Bird even made his way onto Saturday Night Live.
On October 31, the impact of Mitt Romney’s statement will be seen clearly.
According to ABC News, the “Sassy Big Bird” Halloween costume sold on costumecraze.com has been flying off the shelves. Although Big Bird Halloween costumes were already a big seller prior to the presidential debate, sales have increased 500 percent. Halloween Express has had hundreds of searches for their Big Bird costume since the debate. Costume World’s CEO and founder, Marilynn Wick, told ABC News that this year’s couple costume winners were Big Bird paired with Obama and its counterpart, Big Bird and Mitt Romney, with one addition. The Romney/Big Bird pairing also included “a machine gun doing Big Bird in.” Who ever said Mitt Romney was bad for the economy?
The place for in-depth analysis, commentary and informed perspectives. Recommended
