As we all know, corporations argued tooth and nail against the federal do not call list. They made the "first amendment applies to corporations" arguement, which is expected. But should the same do not call directory be applied to political campaigns as well? I would argue yes.
Of course you'll see some politicians (who likely recieved discounts from robocall providing marketing firms for their own campaigns) opposed to the idea on the same grounds that the corporations did; free speech. But what about the individual's right to privacy? Furthermore, what are the substance of these calls? I've gotten one robocall in my life and hung up. That's likely because I don't have a lan line and I always register third party, regardless of how I choose to vote in the generals.
The call was from John McCain stumping for someone, could've been TPaw, who knows. But maybe the overarching question is "How far can campaigns go to get people involved and aware of their candidates?" Ideally everyone in the country would just be engaged in the process and make the time to educate themselves and their families on current events. While that's not the case, I sincerely doubt that any robocall is going to make someone who has no interest say, "Wow, that was one strong 59 second message. I'm gonna vote for such and such ding dong." Anyone who is somewhat engaged might listen all the way through, but would still be making a mistake by basing any decision on it.
The trend in political media is less emphasis on political ads across all mediums, and more emphasis on debates and substantive discourse on specific issues; not glittering generalities. When I ran for state rep back in MI I did door to door and internet advertising. But people really don't want some guy in a suit showing up to their house and they immediately treat you like you're selling something or pushing some religion. Yuk! Ultimately if people don't care to take part or be educated, I wouldn't go out of my way to try and make them.
As a private citizen I don't want to be called or texted unless I sign up for such notifications. Even Obama's campaign overcalled me in the run up to the MN caucuses. They called 5 times in a week just to remind me about caucus training. While this is likely the result of the phone bankers not logging their calls correctly (and don't think I don't appreciate all you kids' hard work!) it still got annoying. Really 5 emails would have been fine.
What's your opinion?