Political Suppression
Shaun Dakin wants to give politicians a taste of their own medicine.
Dakin, a database marketer, was once a volunteer political telemarketer. In 2006 he got an earful of complaints about candidate calls, especially from people who had added their names to the National Do Not Call Registry. Now Dakin has set up his own list for those seeking to avoid political telemarketing.
When the federal registry was established, politicians claimed exemption, arguing that their pitches were not sales calls but free-speech efforts aimed at informing voters.
Perhaps. But sometimes the information given out is mighty dubious. For example, in 2000, calls made to South Carolina voters falsely insinuated that John McCain had fathered an illegitimate child.
And when even genuine informational calls are followed by direct mail campaign contribution solicitations, the combined effort smacks more of multichannel marketing than political discourse.
