Poll love, hate, indifferent to political phone calls

[Tap]

My answering machine is full of political phone calls every day right now. Why are these legal?

[Aubrey]

Why do they really think these will accomplish anything good? Nobody listens to them!

[cdrumm4448]

I was not happy on Monday. We were trying to do school and the phone kept ringing, so I let it go to the answering machine. One was from a woman who declared that she was raped when she was 18 and that Bill Brady (running for Gov. of IL) will make abortion illegal in IL. No sooner did she hang up than ds turns to me and asks,"What is rape and abortion?"

 

Uhhhhhh. I told him abortion is the ending of a pregnancy. He didn't ask more and I didn't tell more. He kept asking what rape was. I didn't know what to say since I was still in shock so I told him to ask his father. He forgot about it by the time dh got home.

 

The message was left by Personal PAC, so I went to their website and sent them an e-mail asking that any messages left on answering machines be OK for kids.

 

Never heard back from them.

[smrtmama]

It's actually a major reason why we had our home phone turned off.

[Crissy]

Hate.

The junk mail and the radio and television ads, too. Hate, hate, hate.

 

I think they are worthless. The information is exaggerated or misleading regardless of the politician or group paying for the ad.

[southcarolinamom]

I hate them all - no matter if it's for a Democrat or Republican. They are almost always recordings, and I hang up immediately. We've had calls as late as 10 PM last week.

[Crafty Mathy Mom]

Loathe is a better word. The phone will.not.stop.ringing. :mad: I would turn the ringer off, but dh's father is in the hospital and we need to be able to hear from him. Caller ID is worth every penny on days like today.

[Daisy]

For the last month we've had our voice mail turned off and we don't answer the phone. People who KNOW me, know to call my cell if they really need me.

[kristavws]

I honestly will not vote for someone that calls my house. I find the voice recorded ones to be the worst.

 

Krista

[Jen in PA]

Whoa, do you seriously expect anyone to vote for the first option?!

[Farrar]

I unplugged the phone finally during the campaign season. I'm SO glad it's over now. If you live somewhere where 90% of the population is a member of the same party, then the election is over after the primaries.:glare:

[Mrs Mungo]

Other-I never receive any since I do not vote in the state in which I live.

[Audrey]

Absolutely hate them and I DO NOT think they should be exempt from the Do Not Call List. I think "Do Not Call" should apply to absolutely every single organization period. :glare:

[Tap]

Other-I never receive any since I do not vote in the state in which I live.

Here they don't even care if you are registered or not. They just go by phone lists of residents.

 

 

Maybe the 'live callers' call the registered voters and the recordings go out to everyone LOL.

[Aggie]

My answering machine is full of political phone calls every day right now. Why are these legal?

 

Because the people making the calls are the ones making the laws.:glare:

[Caitilin]

Impossible to overstate the degree to which I loathe political phone calls. Grr...:glare:

[Xuzi]

Loathe.

 

I particularly hate that every live-person call we've recieved has been someone asking to speak to my husband who isn't even a US citizen, and obviously not registered to vote! What good do they think talking to him will do??

[Kirch]

They don't seem to have found us yet. :leaving:

 

That's probably because we're not in a hotly contested area, though. Thank goodness!

[DarcyB]

It's weird. We live in a more predominantly conservative/Republican/well to do suburb. But we live in the poor part LOL We rarely ever get any political calls here. I'm not sure if it's because of the are of town we're in (and I don't know how they'd target that since phone #'s aren't necessarily in what part of town you are anymore. We always expect that we're going to see tons, and we don't.

[PineFarmMom]

We don't get them. Weird!! I've gotten a couple of town hall meeting phone calls, but that's it.

[dm379]

I've never gotten any but get "vote for me" texts all the time here. I probably get 5 - 7 a day. It stinks, my phone goes off at all hours of the night.

[Heather in AL]

I was not happy on Monday. We were trying to do school and the phone kept ringing, so I let it go to the answering machine. One was from a woman who declared that she was raped when she was 18 and that Bill Brady (running for Gov. of IL) will make abortion illegal in IL. No sooner did she hang up than ds turns to me and asks,"What is rape and abortion?"

 

Uhhhhhh. I told him abortion is the ending of a pregnancy. He didn't ask more and I didn't tell more. He kept asking what rape was. I didn't know what to say since I was still in shock so I told him to ask his father. He forgot about it by the time dh got home.

 

The message was left by Personal PAC, so I went to their website and sent them an e-mail asking that any messages left on answering machines be OK for kids.

 

Never heard back from them.

 

Here there is an ad on the radio that begins something to the effect of "John Doe wants to keep abortion legal.." There is NO time to turn the station or lower the volume before that tidbit invades my ears. :glare::glare::glare:

 

Hate.

The junk mail and the radio and television ads, too. Hate, hate, hate.

 

I think they are worthless. The information is exaggerated or misleading regardless of the politician or group paying for the ad.

 

I *despise* all political advertising! I toss the mailers, hang up on the phone calls, and change the channel on the TV & radio ads.

 

So how will I make my INFORMED decision on election day? Well, I'll look at a sample ballot, check out the candidates' websites and decide for myself. I guess a lot of people don't to that, though, as the marketing ploy of inundating voters with 'name recognition' and "smear tactics" must work. :glare:

 

I, too, wish they were not exempt from the "Do Not Call List". In fact, I agree with Audrey in that I wish no one was exempt. I just don't like businesses/charities/churches/whomever calling me. Period. E-mail is my friend. :D

[Spy Car]

I don't mind them :001_tt2:

 

Bill

[My3Boys]

I voted "indifferent" as a compromise.

 

I do not love them because I feel they would be of more value if they talked about how their candidate stood on the issues instead of negative attacks on the other guy/gal.

 

I do not hate them because I am thankful that we live in a free society that allows open discussion, even if it is discussion I don't want to hear.

[Hedgehog]

Pull the phone out, unless you have caller ID on it. At least on a cell phone you can see who's calling. I've very nearly gotten rid of our landline altogether because of phone calls like this - it used to drive me batty. Now I just don't answer the house phone much at all.

 

Every now and again, I get repeat phone calls on my cell from numbers I don't recognise. I assign these to the title "Pest Caller" in my Contacts list, and have set it to automatically redirect to my voicemail (which I don't have set up anyway, so it just dies on them when they try to call me :sneaky2: )

 

Junk mail - I open ALL mail over the bin. A tip I received from my MIL. One of her best.

[Mrs Mungo]

So how will I make my INFORMED decision on election day? Well, I'll look at a sample ballot, check out the candidates' websites and decide for myself. I guess a lot of people don't to that, though, as the marketing ploy of inundating voters with 'name recognition' and "smear tactics" must work. :glare:

 

I don't understand people who don't research the candidates and/or issues *at all*. Last election there were 2 candidates for Sheriff. Again, I don't live in my state, so I look them up. One had been a police officer for 20+ years. The other was a truck driver who had been a security guard on the side for a couple of years. REALLY!?

 

I, too, wish they were not exempt from the "Do Not Call List". In fact, I agree with Audrey in that I wish no one was exempt. I just don't like businesses/charities/churches/whomever calling me. Period. E-mail is my friend. :D

 

The calls that I hate? Creditors calling for the person who had my phone number before I moved here. I've been getting calls for her for almost 3 years. I will get a lot of calls, I will FREAK OUT on someone, they will stop for a while. After a couple of months they start up again. UGH! I hate it!

[Miss Marple]

Weird - we have not received any political phones call this election cycle! Could it be because Oklahoma doesn't have any big contests? I wonder if others in OK are getting called.

[Blossom'sGirl]

I had Bill Clinton, obviously recorded, call me earlier to tell me who to vote for in NY. I haven't been answering the phone all week.

 

Hate, Hate, Hate them!

[nukeswife]

Other-I never receive any since I do not vote in the state in which I live.

 

I wish I was this lucky. I've lived in VA for almost 3 years now, but we're registered voters in FL and vote absentee. No matter how many times I tell them to make a note that I'm not a registered to vote in VA, I still get multiple calls a day about VA elections.

 

During the last Presidential Election I would get at least one recorded John McCain call a day, my dh started teasing me about it and asking me if my "buddy John" called.

Edited October 28, 2010 by nukeswife

[Jean in Newcastle]

You already know that I hate them - esp. when they come at 10 pm.

[Spy Car]

I don't mind them :001_tt2:

 

Bill

 

Can I change my vote? :D

 

Bill

[Crimson Wife]

We don't have a landline so we don't get calls but our mail has been 99% political mailers for the last few weeks. :glare: The overwhelming majority of them are addressed to me, as I'm registered "Decline to State" (Californian for "Independent").

[Luckymama]

Grrr I just got one. I had expected dh to return a call, so I picked up the phone.

 

You may know that our state is in the midst of a senate election with an "interesting" candidate. I received a call from her camp. What, the almost daily mailings aren't enough?

 

Geesh. The call won't work, anyway ;)

[Firefly]

If I could actually speak to the candidate and give them a piece of my mind, that I would love. :glare: I voted for HATE them.

[Jenny in Atl]

I have yet to receive one... Not sure why except we have no land-line, but I've received them in the past. Maybe I'm marked as a lost cause. :lol: Or maybe they know I've already voted? :001_huh:

[BigMamaBird]

I H.A.T.E. them!!

 

I decide who I am voting for by doing research, not because some robocall told me their opponent is a devil.

[FaithManor]

I am so sick of these pre-recorded calls that I refuse to answer the phone. I watch the caller i.d. and if I don't know the number, I refuse to pick up.

 

It makes me doubly angry that the "do not call" legislation exempted politicians and fund raising organizations. Dh works from home and these calls are just a non-stop hassle. My standard line, "I don't pay for my phone line so that you can abuse it. Would you like to pay my phone bill? No, then don't call back."

 

If I want to talk to a politico, I can look up the number and call. Those phones are paid for by my tax dollars.

 

Faith

[Rosy]

I clicked other--I don't have a land line and haven't gotten a single call.

[FaithManor]

Oh and don't start me on the waste of trees in the form of DAILY MAILINGS that say nothing of substance about the candidate but certainly sling mud at their opponent! It should be a crime to waste as much paper, ink, and man power as they do on these mailings!!!!!

 

Faith, all riled up just thinking about it.

[Garga]

Newt Gingrich called me this morning. After all these years of hearing his name, it suddenly hit me as HILARIOUS that he goes by Newt.

 

What a ridiculous name.

 

I deleted the message, but at least I got a good laugh.

[cindergretta]

Hate, loathe, and despise!!!! My dh gets calls constantly on his cell phone for me!! Wha?!?!!!? And the stupid things are wasting his minutes!!!! Grrrrr!

 

The mailings also make me ill. We get a dozen a day and they are the same ones from the same people, over and over. It is a collosal waste of money and natural resources!

 

When I run the world... :D No political calls and no political mailings. There will be websites and phones lines for voters to use at their leisure to research the issues and the candidates! :tongue_smilie: