# John McCain, we are not dating, calling on a Saturday night is wrong **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 2, 2008, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707 "2008-11-02T10:07:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/21 "2008-11-03T01:02:36Z")
> [@Queen Tonya](#): > > Met one representative who did his own door-knocking, nice young man I invited in for a coke. :eek: How do you think he feels about you plastering his habits all over the Internet? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/22 "2008-11-03T01:14:59Z")
4 calls from the democrats today. Well, 4 that I know of. I turned my phone off. Vonage is now picking up immediately. Fuckers. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/23 "2008-11-03T01:18:00Z")
How many of these calls have been actual humans and how many have been robocalls? I’m a little torn between my belief that people have the right to be left alone, and the belief that there should be certain exceptions for political campaigning. I think the answer is that political robocalls should be outlawed. Calls by real volunteers should be allowed. This would cut down on the sheer volume of calls that people receive. And it means that the amount of calling that a candidate is able to do is dependent on how many people he or she can inspire to volunteer and how well he or she is able to organize them. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/24 "2008-11-03T01:51:04Z")
I live in Chicago, the bluest city on the planet. My phone has been blissfully quiet. Yay! ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/25 "2008-11-03T02:02:38Z")
I don’t know that it has much to do with cities; San Diego is probably a pretty serious swing city, but California is totally blue. Illinois too–your state has gone Democratic the last four times in a row. Not to mention that it’s Sen. Obama’s home state. I crunched the numbers on [ElectoralMap.Org](http://ElectoralMap.Org) the other night: it turns out that out of 124 competitive Presidential candidates in all the general elections in history, only 38 have failed to win their home states–and most of them were running against (a) a winner from their home state, (b) FDR, (c) George Washington, or (d) some combination of the above. Unless something crazy is going on in Arizona, it seems like this election will definitely go the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/26 "2008-11-03T03:06:10Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Personally, i think the national Do Not Call list should have made NO exemptions for charities, political parties, or surveys. I agree with this proposal, but it should come with the condition that, in order to have the Do Not Call apply to political parties, you must be registered to vote. ---
**Author:** ![tygre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@tygre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygre)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/27 "2008-11-03T03:44:32Z")
IIRC robocalls are illegal in some states. I’d love to see that expanded. I live in NY and before this, IL, so I’ve never gotten presidential calls. I have received a few from local/state races, back in IL. We’ve received a few mailers for state races as well. Amusingly, we got one from each state rep candidate on the same day: Candidate A is a liar! No, Candidate B is! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/28 "2008-11-03T03:50:09Z")
> [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > Hey, some of us wish we [del]lived in important enough states[/del] were important enough to a presidential candidate to make them call or at least _write_ every once in a while. I never did find out what Barack named his pet rock. Heh, we barely even get TV ads. My phone has not rung once. Hell, since I switched numbers I even ditched my college alumnae office! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/29 "2008-11-03T06:15:57Z")
> [@Lilacs](#): > > I received a Robocall from the McCain camp at work. Well…it probably wasn’t for me as I am a registered democrat, but I answer the phone. I’m a registered Democrat too. It doesn’t matter to them, they call everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Lilacs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Lilacs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lilacs)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/30 "2008-11-03T12:51:11Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I’m a registered Democrat too. It doesn’t matter to them, they call everyone. Well, their purpose was to get whoever to go canvas for them in Missouri, so I assumed that they were trying to reach their own fan base. Plus, there are 30 people or so who work where I do. I know at least two are registered republicans. Still, it made me laugh hysterically. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/31 "2008-11-03T14:44:39Z")
Being in Maryland we don’t get much in the way of Presidential crap, at least not from the state. But because we’re next to Virginia I get to see all the damn ads for the state. I don’t even think we get ads for people running here. The only Maryland specific ads that I have seen are for the slots. However, we had some sort of special election I think right around the time of the primaries. Some jerk called me a good 20+ times, 10+ in one day. I wasn’t even in his district. I tried to call and email his campaign, didn’t help. I’m glad the stupid fucker lost. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/32 "2008-11-03T15:19:10Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > I think the answer is that political robocalls should be outlawed. Calls by real volunteers should be allowed. I’d be in favor of this. Also outlaw the calls where, if you hang up the phone, the political caller on the other end doesn’t hang up until they’ve finished their speil. I got one of those from the McCain campaign last night. I think those calls are illegal in Maryland, but not here in PA. They should be illegal here, too. ---
**Author:** ![Ro\_Carter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7feea3/32.png) [@Ro\_Carter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ro_Carter)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/33 "2008-11-03T18:27:50Z")
I’ve been lucky so far, in that I live in a brand new building (some online retailers don’t even recognize it as a valid address yet), and the robo-callers don’t seem to have realized these numbers exist yet. The only redeeming factor about robo calls is the satisfaction I get from hanging up with extreme prejudice. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/34 "2008-11-03T19:32:49Z")
> [@Anne Neville](#): > > Also outlaw the calls where, if you hang up the phone, the political caller on the other end doesn’t hang up until they’ve finished their speil. Um, what? What’s the point? ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/35 "2008-11-03T19:42:10Z")
Obama just called me for the first time! And at the end he said – get this – _bye-bye!_ Bye-bye. AAAHAHAHHAH. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/36 "2008-11-03T19:43:21Z")
> [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > Um, what? What’s the point? You can’t hang up on them and cut them off. If you do, and then pick up the phone immediately afterward (as I did last night, because I figured I’d call my parents while I had the phone), they’re still on the line, and won’t let you have your line back until the call is done. It’s really, really annoying to not be able to hang up on them until they’re finished. I think the reasoning behind making them illegal in Maryland was that someone might need to dial 911 and be prevented from doing so by this call tying up their line. That’s probably less of an issue now, unfortunately, with cell phones being as common as they are. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/37 "2008-11-03T20:40:13Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Personally, i think the national Do Not Call list should have made NO exemptions for charities, political parties, or surveys. > > If i don’t want you to call me, then you shouldn’t call me. The fact that i don’t want to hear from you on my home telephone does NOT infringe on your First Amendment rights, even if you are a political candidate. Oh, I SO agree with this. I just had yet another state-level election campaign call my cell phone. She started in on her spiel and I cut her off with “You’re burning my cell phone minutes here.” She said “Sorry” and hung up. Whoever sold these campaigns my cell phone numbers should…well, I can’t wish death on anyone, but I can wish them an infestation of fleas, right? ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/38 "2008-11-03T20:49:34Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > I think the reasoning behind making them illegal in Maryland was that someone might need to dial 911 and be prevented from doing so by this call tying up their line. That’s probably less of an issue now, unfortunately, with cell phones being as common as they are. I don’t think this has ever happened to me, nor have I heard of it happening to anyone else. I’ve never heard of this being illegal in Maryland either. It might very well be, but I’ve never heard it before. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/39 "2008-11-03T22:02:45Z")
We moved into a new house/new phone number this spring. And not a single political phone call this year. I may have to look into getting a new phone number every 4 years. ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707/40 "2008-11-04T01:27:18Z")
3 robocalls today: the governor again asking me to vote the straight Democratic ticket again, Hillary Clinton asking me to vote for Obama, and Bill Clinton telling me where my polling place is, with another man’s voice spliced in reading the actual location of the polling place (obviously they couldn’t ask Clinton to read hundreds of individual addresses). This is the seventh presidential election that I’ve voted in. Never before have I gotten a call telling me where my polling place was, OR a call from a former president shilling for a candidate; I may never again get a call from a former president telling me where my polling place is. I may smack the next person who bitches about the Clintons not doing enough for Obama. Oh, and there was an Obama flyer on the front doorknob of my apartment this morning. Which pissed me off a bit. You see, my high-rise building is its own voting district (AFAIK every inhabited high rise in the city is its own district), and the polling place is in the front lobby. The voting machines are sitting down there, next to the front desk, right now (with seals on them, of course). Did some flyer-hanger actually think that having actual voting machines in the lobby of the building where we live was too subtle for some people? And a flyer on the doorknob would accomplish what _voting machines in the lobby_ could not? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-mccain-we-are-not-dating-calling-on-a-saturday-night-is-wrong/470707.md?page=3)