It has always annoyed me that politicians are exempt from following the Federal No Not Call legislation. Along with fund-raisers, political organizations are not required to scrub their lists against the Do Not Call Registry.
So, I guess it's okay for a politician to call you at dinnertime, while other legitimate business concerns can't... I don't know about you, but both types of calls are annoying and quite honestly, a call soliciting my vote REALLY rubs me the wrong way.
Direct Magazine published a piece about a former political telemarketer, turned database marketer, Shaun Dakin, who has instituted a registry of people who do not wish to receive political phone calls.
"The registry (www.stoppoliticalcalls.org) launched in late September. As of early October, it contained 460 names." Their goal is to reach 1 million names by March.
"Dakin's registry is a first step at ameliorating the arrogance of politicians who pass restrictive marketing laws they don't intend to follow themselves. Is it a perfect step? Probably not. But it gets the debate started."
My take on this--I'm for it. I believe in giving consumers as many options as we can. Further, I've never believed that politicians should be given preferential treatment. They should have to work within the same privacy legislation and marketing guidelines that any other marketers must comply with.
