Can anything be done about the glut of electioneering calls?

I realize these people are on committees and have jobs to do, BUT the saturation this year was absolutely ridiculous. I must have gotten 20 calls in the last three days urging me to vote for someone or other. I know I got four calls (I counted them) from Joe Piscopo, three from Madeline Albright, two from Mario Andretti and recorded calls from various other supporters of a candidate.

What I want to know is why can't they remove you from their list after one call. I've had it with interrupting my trip to the bathroom to answer another of these calls begging for my vote. Am I alone in this complaint? And is there any way to bug someone to stop it in the future?

Thank you very much.

 

I got a call from an actual person on Sunday. He launched into his script, I interrupted and said "You are calling on whose behalf?" He answered. "Well, since you bothered me on a Sunday I'm voting for his opponent. Goodbye."

 

There's some speculation some of those calls are funny business...like you mention the opponent's name in the first two seconds, so people think they got a call from that candidate and get pissed. It's all part of the effort to turn decent people off from voting, so just the most partisan nuts head to the polls. God forbid candidates actually act like adults and put forth a good argument on why to vote for them...

 

Caller ID, ladies and gentlemen. Caller ID.

If I don't recognize the name and/or phone number, I don't answer. If they don't leave a message on the machine, that's just not my problem.

 

Just get rid of the home phone, go strictly with the cell and you're in the clear on all sorts of shit.

No more telemarketers, no more voting people. The only people who call you are the people you know.

 

i got one of those recorded calls telling me someone in a local race in my district was endorsed by the NRA. i was glad she called because i didn't know that but knowing it, i made sure to vote against the person.

 

Dog, I'm in agreement with you on this but I still haven't dumped the home line. And for now I guess I have to keep the land line to keep it plugged into my DirecTV receiver. On another note, what do you suppose the polling companies will do to get an accurate sample as more and more people go exclusively to cell phones?

 

email.

 

You don't need the phone line for the receiver. It's bullshit. I got the dish myself and I've never once had it connected to a phone line. I'm not missing a single feature, other than being able to pay my bill through the on-screen thing. Other than that, though, no problems. If you want pay-per-view, call the number and order it from your cell. Takes like 10 seconds. If you want a different channel selection or a sports package, call the number.

 

There was an article where somebody complained to the FCC because according to the law, when a recorded call is made they are supposed to identify who is sponsoring the call.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/07/us/politics/07robo.html?ref=politics

 

I feel neglected. I didn't get a single call on my landline (which I have to have for my DSL.)

Ahh, it's all right. Everyone that *knows* me knows to call me on my cell. So if the home phone rings, I don't answer it. Smart of them to stay the hell away.

***

Oh, and you can sue telemarketing companies for between $500-1,000 for a series of common violations, such as not identifying themselves by full name, not saying which organization they represent, not immediately placing you on that company's do-not-call list if you request it, etc., etc.

So there's another threat you can use if these people actually get you on the phone.

 

John Gard's campaign called me ten times last week and I don't even live in his district. I've also received calls from Russ Feingold and Bradley Whitford(West Wing, Studio 60) about the gay marriage amendment on the ballot.