National Do Not Call Registry Exempts Politicians

While I'm not a fan of big government, I was elated when the Federal Trade Commission first passed the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 and consequently the National Do Not Call Registry in 2003. I registered our home phone number as soon as the website opened and before long the telemarketers left us alone. Imagine my dismay when election time rolled around here in South Carolina and we were suddenly inundated with calls from politicians begging us for our vote, and pre-recorded at that. It was the ultimate impersonal intrusion.

My contempt shifted and I suddenly felt an ounce of compassion for telemarketers who were just trying to make a living. On the other hand, I've always despised politics, but personal feelings aside, I had other more legitimate reasons for feeling intruded. They called regardless of your political affiliation. They would call multiple times with the same message. Prior to the rambling, there was no, "If you would like to hear a message from so-and-so press 1. If you would like to opt-out of future calls press 2."

I'm not as censored about my political opinions as some people are. If you were to ask about my favorite candidate or whether I was republican or democrat I would tell you without hesitation and without looking at you like you have a third eye like some people do. Despite this indifference to secrecy, I do not appreciate these types of calls one bit. The first time I received one, there might as well been a Christian evangelist on the other end of the phone. I felt disrespected.

Politicians and not for profit organizations are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry. I would love to meet the person who decided telemarketers were more of a nuisance than politicians or who thought politicians to be above the law. Granted politicians don't call year-round, but when election time rolls around, watch out.

Finally there is a way for affronted citizens to take action. Stop Political Calls (http://www.stoppoliticalcalls.org ) was conceived by others who were annoyed at the incessant calls. According to their website they work along side with the Citizens for Civil Discourse (CCD). The CCD collects the phone numbers given to the National Political Do Not Call Registry (same as the Stop Political Calls website).

There's power in numbers and the CCD is waiting for enough upset individuals to sign up before they can bring these lists to the politicians. What matters to the politicians are money and votes, once we become the majority, they will have to listen to our "vote". So far the National Political Do Not Call Registry has collected more than 1 million numbers. You can register your number more than once if multiple voters are living in one residence as politicians will call multiple times to reach each voter.

One day politicians will be required by contract to take our names and phone numbers out of their databases. Until then we need to remain vigilant and spread the word about www.stoppoliticalcalls.org in order to keep politics out of our homes and snugly behind voting booth curtains.