01.28.2009 3:16 pm
Zimmerman targets robo-calls
Special to the Post-Dispatch
Zimmerman
The November election may be over, but resentment over those mountains of pre-election political robo-calls apparently remains.
State Rep. Jake Zimmerman, D-Olivette, says he filed a bill today that would bar politicians or campaigns from making robo-calls to people on the state’s No Call list.
What’s unclear if whether such a ban could apply to independent political groups. And who would be punished for violations, if a group conducts such calls without coordination with the candidate?
Rep. Zimmerman is a right thinking type of guy! About time politicians addressed their own house.
my hero!
The law would be good policy, but I wonder whether it would be struck down as unconstitutional under the 1st Amendment. If contributing money to a campaign constitutes “protected speech,” wouldn’t a recorded message of political content?
It’s about time they do away with these trash calls. I pressed Sen. Gibbons several years ago to do something about this and he, as expected, did nothing. We need to hold our elected officials accountable to their constituents.
Good thinking on the part of Jake.
I might suggest that “all” robo-calls be banned. Or better yet, how about we tax them say 25 cents a pop (that would take care of “constitutional free speech” problems. That march of quarters would add up in a hurry if the next election like the previous.
Might be enough there given the trend to pay for part of the stimulus package.
You mean that really wasn’t Barak Obama who called here the day before the election?
Yes! please ban them all, or if that interferes with our free speech issues, garyo has the ticket… but we must charge more than 25 cents a call. We should collect at least 50 cents a call so that it costs as much to call as it does to mail a letter.
was the call from Obama the only call you recieved JJK? My phone never stopped ringing even though I’m a registered Democrat and a county central committee chair it never stopped from both parties.
If the only call you got was from Obama’s campaign staff you were lucky.