Robocalls

Robocalls. Personally, I'd like to drive down with my shotgun and shoot all the equipment of the people behind this things. I can't do that though, so I'll voice my displeasure here instead. I got about 20 of those robocalls from "American Family Voices" alone, a thinly-disguised DNC front group. I don't like them, and if I ever run for anything, refuse to use robocalls. IMO, they cost as many votes as they gain. They offend people more than the phone banks.

The reason they are used is because they are CHEAP. They are about 5 times cheaper than a mailing. Until either that changes or until those numbers are added to do-not-call lists, they will continue to be used. It doesn't mean I have to like it.

From the Argus.

Plenty of hang-ups surround 'robo-calls'

The recent blitz of recorded political messages, or "robo-calls" as they are called, are "ripe for a lot of dirty tricks," according to one local legislator.
State Rep. Chris Ward, R-Brighton Township, opposes the use of the typically 30-second ads that are being telephoned to residents and left on answering machines throughout the county, state and country.



"It's an environment that's ripe for a lot of dirty tricks, people calling and saying things that aren't true or are unsubstantiated," Ward said, adding there is no law requiring a tag line of who paid for the messages.


State Rep. Joe Hune, R-Hamburg Township, recently recorded a robo-call in support of Republican gubernatorial challenger Dick DeVos.
"I think that they work if you can't get out and meet the voters yourself," Hune said. "I should apologize because everyone opens their mailbox (and) it's full of literature. Every time they answer the phone, it's a politician. But soon it will be all over."

Neither Ward nor Hune are using robo-calls for their own re-election campaigns, with the latter saying he has received a "couple of anecdotal things" about robo-calls from people he's met while out in the field.

Both have said they wouldn't be opposed to adding robo-calls to the list of prohibited calls on the National Do Not Call Registry.