The title pretty much says it all. I’m just curious to get opinions on it.
Depends on the political call. Today (and last week) I got a pre-recorded message. The first one was from my congressman, Jesse Jackson Jr, all about a march at Rainbow Park. Weird thing is that today I got one from a woman claiming to be my “alderman” (I live in the suburbs; I have no such creature) all about the same march. Hell, my kids don’t go to city schools–I live 35 minutes out of the city limits.
These messages were lengthy and included directions, parking directions and other general info. While I’m happy to cheer on the march, I want nothing to do with it as an event.
So, those kind of political calls irritate me.
Another type of political call is the survey, which has the potential to make me homicidal, especially one I got from some Right to Life group last winter. Again, prerecorded, with a menu to press: 1 for no, 2 for yes etc. Even though I pressed 2 for NO (as in I don’t support your position), the call ended with thanking me for my support for “the cause”. I really wanted to break things after that call (I imagine they assume that anyone that stays on the line supports them. As if.)
So, I don’t like those either.
Last kind if the poor volunteer who wants me to give money. I am polite to these people, but if I’m going to part with the ready, I’ll do it without solicitation.
I don’t like them as well.
Reader’s Digest Version: I don’t like them. 
I hate that shit and wish they’d all knock it off. Telebeggars, politicians, surveys, the odd salesdrone that gets past the DNC list . . . I absofuckinglutely HATE it when anybody I don’t know calls me at home just to flog whatever the hell they’re flogging.
Caller ID is a marvelous thing.
We just went through a primary election here, and at one point we were getting at least one political call every hour from breakfast until about 9:00 p.m.
Not one of those calls was from an actual human being. In fact, most of them were negative phone calls that Candidate X supported eating babies for breakfast and banning photos of your kitty from the internet.
If even one of those calls had been from an actual human being, I might have listened.
>>>click<<<
As a rule, I hang up on them.
Alternatively, they hang up on me after they pretend they’re a survey until they find out I’m a Democrat.
Seriously:
Caller: In order to verify our sample, we need to get some preliminary data. Are you male or female?
Me: Male.
Caller: How old are you?
Me: 51
Caller: If you identify with a political party, which one?
Me: Democrat
Caller: <click>
Me: hello . . . hello? . . . well, what the fuck?
I hate them.
I hate them. :mad:
The thing is, they work on they “why not, it couldn’t hurt”, and telemarketers will sell it to charities and etc based upon that.
I have changed banks and stopped giving to charities when they insist on calling. So, to call me means you lose my $$, not get more. I don’t think I am alone.
I suppose it could sway my vote, if I was almost to the point of flipping a coin.
Having had a protracted period of telephone spam, I never immediately answer the phone these days. It goes to voicemail and if it’s someone to whom Iwish to speak, I pick up the phone.
They shouldn’t be able to call people that are on a do not call list.
I treat them the same way as I treat all telemarketers*; I hang up on them, and block their numbers (if possible) if they call more than once.
*I consider anyone phoning me to get me to buy something, send money to a charity, or influence my vote a telemarketer, regardless of what politicians might think about the matter. They can all use Canada Post if they want to communicate with me.
I treat them the same way I treat any telemarketer: if it’s a recording, as soon as I perceive it’s a recording (usually by the third word), I hang up. If it’s a person, as soon as I perceive that it’s a telemarketer of some kind–I normally don’t even wait to hear what they want–I say, “We’re not interested, thank you” and I hang up.
Am I the only person on the Dope that doesn’t mind getting them?
My standard reply, “Please remove me from your call list, I am on the ‘Do not call for’ a reason.”
I would love it to stop. I know it won’t.
I think that they are a useless waste of money.
[list=a]
[li]I always hangup[/li][li]If I did listen I would not likely change my mind based on a phone call[/li][li]It usually pisses me off. Not quite enough to make me vote against the candidate, but sometimes close.[/li][/list]
I think the prerecorded ones are stupid and pointless, but I rather like the survey ones. I like the idea that I’m influencing policy decisions since everyone else hangs up. 
Hate them. But if a real person calls, I’m polite since I figure they’re either a volunteer or some underpaid schmuck. The only ones I don’t mind are the ones asking if I need help getting to the polls. Since I’m an unaffiliated voter, I sometimes get calls the night before the eletions from both local parties asking if I need a ride.
I don’t get political phone calls. If they’re calling me, I’m not picking up the phone when they do. Maybe that’s what’s behind all those “unknowns” on my CallerID. You want to call me on the phone, get a line that identifies you. I get political mail and email and discard 99.44% of it unopened. Something from the RNC or DNC? Burn it. Especially the DNC. The sleazeballs constantly send me fundraising letters poorly disguised as opinion surveys. If they actually read the response, I should have been arrested. (OK, maybe not, but I was rude). Not from my state rep or BO or someone else I already support? Burn, baby, burn. It was email? Delete it and mark the sender as a spammer.
I’d take it. “And, oh yeah - I need to stop at the grocery store. And the dry cleaners. And the post office. . .”
My response exactly.