Robo calls have apparently become a campaign issue to some voters
To some, robo calls have become a campaign issue. One poster here said they are no longer voting for Mike because he does not want to ban robo calls – which doing so is clearly unconstitutional – and they suggested we just say we are against them so we won’t lose votes. Now, that may be something our opponent does, but we’re not going to say something just to get elected. Any ban on robo calls will be overturned by the courts because it’s a basic Freedom of Speech issue. We could take our opponent’s tack and introduce a “show bill” just to say we did it knowing full well it will never become law or stand up in court.
Our solution is to require who ever is paying for the call to identify themselves right at the top of the call not at the end, restrict their length and only allow then during certain reasonable hours of the day.
It seems funny that just two days ago our opponent said he’s against robo calls and would not use then, and immediately people begin saying they received the calls from Mr. Ward.
Here’s the blurb that appeared in today’s newspaper.
The Daily Press & Argus blog got responses from several people who were irritated with receiving recorded political messages, or "robo-calls," on their answering machines.
"Dan" (Wholihan, a member of the Livingston County Republican Party Executive Committee) said he has received robo-calls and added, "I absolutely hate robo-calls, even when they are from my own party. I think they cost more votes than they gain, but that's just me."
Yet, not everyone who responded to Story Chat disliked them.
"Curley Sue" got one from state Rep. Chris Ward, R-Brighton Township, on behalf of Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos.
"If you don't like robo-calls, hang up," the post reads. "Some of us like hearing something about the candidates we are being asked to vote for, and not everyone gets the paper."
Here is Mike’s direct position on robo calls.
“People hate, I mean people hate all the calls. I put my numbers out there in the ads because they can get back at a politician and call them. I also let them know I did not call them, so keep that in mind before you call. I was asked to do the calls and I declined because meeting someone face to face is great.
posted by Communications guru @ 12:48 PM
7 Comments:
Guru, you and Mike need to get on the same page here.
Here's what you wrote in a previous post:
"Not all people hate robo calls."
And here's Mike's statement:
"People hate, I mean people hate all the calls."
Which is it? Do people hate them, or do people not hate them?
I don’t think everyone hates them because they don’t bother me, at lest when I know who’s paying for the call. Mike does, and ultimately the decision to use them rests with him. That’s why we have never used them. But we do agree they cannot nor should they be banned because it’s a free speech issue, and we have always been on the same page. We also agree on some reasonable restrictions that will cut down on the calls considerably.
But thank you for posting and asking.
How can it be unconstitutional to ban them, but constitutional to put the restrictions on them that you're proposing?
Please understand that I am not a lawyer. Political speech is most definitely protected by the 1st Amendment, and in fact, that’s the very reason it was drafted. You can place reasonable restrictions on robo calls in the same way you can place restrictions on political yard signs like only allowing them to be displayed 30 days before an election, or having slander laws or limiting hate speech.
Guru is correct. Can't yell fire in a theatre and claim free speech.
I hate political phone calls. I have received 4 a day for the last week and have decided to vote against the worst perpetrators, which means that I have changed who I had planned on voting for and I am not voting for their opponent.
Interesting change in event for these politicians and I think on Wednesday morning, we are going to see what the outcome of these phone-spam messages will be.
I’m really sorry to hear you hate political phone calls because they are so important. Are you talking about robo calls or calls from volunteers?
As a campaign volunteer, I have made quite a few phone calls this election season. I went down to my hometown of Monroe for the last two months and worked two 12 hour plus days a week for Kate Ebli. I made hundreds of calls for her. It was difficult because it was a battleground county, and people were getting a lot of calls, meaning some people were very rude. After getting treated very rudely by the voice on the other end it was hard to dial the next number, but I forced myself to dial the number because it was so important. The one thing the experienced taught me is that even if my opponent’s volunteers should ever call me I will be very polite to them and treat them with respect.
It’s hard to blame volunteers like me because we want to help so badly, and I know how important it is to get good people like Kate and Mike in the Legislature. I would have done anything they asked me to do to help get her, and Mike, elected. Instead of voting against the people who made the most calls – I am talking about volunteer calls here not robo calls – you should want to know why so many people feel so strongly about that candidate that they work so hard and put up with so much BS just to work for free.
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