Posted on 11/07/2006 5:00:57 PM PST by SandRat
Registered voters are very popular with campaign workers in the final hours before the mid-term election.
Both the Democrats and Republicans in Pima County put an army of volunteers to work as the deadline drew closer.
The politically passionate citizens were working the phones, dialing for votes in a last minute rush to get their candidates into office.
They do it every election year but this year reports show political candidates are running more ads and making more calls than ever before.
They believe it'll bring out the vote, but some voters say it's making them think about skipping the vote.
James Hill is a 78-year-old patriotic citizen of Tucson. He says he gets 5-6 political calls a day, every call is an invasion of his privacy and he especially hates the recorded messages.
"They make me upset, because I can't talk back to them."
Hill says if he could talk to the candidates he'd keep it simple, "I'd tell don't call me anymore."
Hill's wife Claudette is also bothered by the daily intrusion, "They won't leave you alone." She told News4.
The Hills are on the Do Not Call Registry but Politicians and their parties are exempt.
John Krebs works for the Federal Trade Commission, he's the program manager for the Do Not Call Registry.
He tells News4 that political calls are not covered because they do not meet the definition of a telemarketer.
According to the FTC the definition of telemarketing is an outgoing telephone call to induce the purchase of a good or service.
Politicians aren't selling anything so the FTC says they aren't telemarketers and even if you call and complain the FTC can't do anything to help you.
"We really do focus our law enforcement efforts on entity's that are violating the telemarketing sales rule." Krebs said.
They wrote the law.
exactly
because they usually exempt themselves from the laws peons must observe.
BECAUSE THEY ALL KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR US, AND IT IS THEM OF COURSE! OUR BENEVOLENT POTTERS OF MEN.
duh
(paging Captain Obvious)
disgusting isn't it?
The law was arguably anti-First Amendment.
Restricting political contact would unquestionably violate the First Amendment.
Though that didn't stop so-called CFR.
It's the irritant of freedom and a representative democracy. Just be glad they call at all.
It's political speech -- which is Constitutionally protected. The Do Not Call list generally applies to commercial speech -- calls for profit -- which may be regulated by Congress.
Register as an independent and you dont get the calls.
The parties have access to your registration information and can easily figure out your phone number.
Well, that, and political speech is protected under the 1st Amendment a whole lot more then commercial speech, which is the way it should be.
Of course, the Constitution itself makes no such distinction between "political" and "commercial speech. I believe that to be an invention of the courts. (I cannot remember: Is it a penumbra or an emanation?)
Heh.
I get this every time I do a phone bank. "How did you get my number?"
Uh, you gave it to me when you filled out your voter application.
"Take me off of your list"
Uh, lady, only YOU can do that. File a new app. and leave out the phone number this time...
What we need is a huge ad campaign telling people that if they are "Undecided", they are obviously too uneducated to exercise the franchise. The canard, "it doesn't matter who [sic] you vote for, just vote!" should become, "Hey, you're stupid. Stay home and don't screw up the country."
It was Sullivan vs NY Times (I made an A on that paper in MBA school business law class).
While the media likes to spin this as the politicians just exempting themselves, the truth is that many, many other types of calls are permitted under do not call:
Chairtable (i.e, Volunteers of America)
Educational (if you have a kid in high school, you know what I mean)
Social (the Jaycees or the Elks can open up the phone book and dial for members)
Religious (thankfully, this has not caught on in a widespread fashion)
Military (if your kid has just graduated high school... or worse. The Navy still calls for me at my mother's house, and I haven't lived there since the first Bush Administration)
To name just a few exceptions.
No way to disconnect. We have to make complaint to our public utilities boards to make sure this stops.
Get an answering machine and caller ID.
I got a call from Rev. Jesse Jackson himself, just 30 minutes before the polls closed here.
Mail is atleast manageable in that one can see quickly what it is and keep or throw away. ANNOYING. WHat is really annoying is when they are Dems calling out house don't they know we'd die before voting for a rat? How dare they even call if it like Satan visiting me at church, having these. :-)
Part of the problem is, they don't "take you off the list"; you have to specifically ask to be "put on a do not call" list, in their mind there is a difference. The "Do not call" list works well, excepting one has to ask specifically not to be harassed, rather than offering to be put on the "Please call me during dinner time list".
It is not a free speech issue, it is invasion of privacy and nuisance issue.
"Political speech" does not give someone the right to grab you on the street and hold on to your shirt while screaming political slogans in your face, the same should apply to you in your own home.
If the law prohibitted political calls, it would clearly violate the 1st Amendment. As it was, it was a bit touchy in that regard.
exactly
No, not directly, but the Federalist Papers explain what the Amendment was intending to address.
They don't grab you by the shirt and hold you. You simply hang up if you don't want to listen. When you put a phone in your home, YOU give them access.
They don't grab you by the shirt and hold you. You simply hang up if you don't want to listen. When you put a phone in your home, YOU give them access.
That said, I find them annoying as well.
unlisted number - not one call
Yup.
The thing with the political calls, (with the exception of the automated ones) is that the data normally come from the county registrar of voters. Which the voter gave to the registrar in the first place...
So, if you don't want the ladies from the women's federated calling you on GOTV weekend, don't give your number to the registrar!
But your phone does not disconnect until the entire recorded message has been delivered.
2 days ago I just turned off all the ringers on all the phones in the house. Anybody who really needed to call me, called my cell.
Gak! Another journalist who doesn't know how to use paragraphs...
So screen your calls.
We have had the same unlisted number for years, time to change it?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.