The Political Phone Call Blitzkrieg

I cannot wait until this election is over. We live in a swing-state (Virginia) and both parties have launched on all-out assault on voters. It’s not just getting out to vote, naturally, it’s getting out to vote for them. We probably received 30 calls this weekend–no exaggeration–from various politicians, parties and PACs, reminding us to vote, and vote for them. Between about noon and 4pm, it seemed the phone was ringing every few minutes, which was particularly annoying because I was (a) trying to write and (b) the Little Man was down for a nap.

How can the various parties involved in these blitz campaign not think that they are being annoying? I joked earlier on Twitter that the next political call I received would lose my vote–I’d vote for the other person. Not really, but it’s still annoying in the extreme to get all of these calls. Not only that, but the folks from Obama for America have been by our house three times to remind us where our polling place is. I knew where my polling place was before they came by the first time. But three times? I might be amused if it was a different person each time, but it has been the same person each time!

If the politicians involved in this election put in as much of an effort running the country as they do running for reelection, I think we’d all be in much better shape. For one thing, a billion dollars or so could have been put to better use–like helping the recovery in New York and New Jersey.

What’s missing is a national opt-out system. If you know where your polling place is, if you already know who you are voting for, you should be able to go to a website, fill out a form, and say, in essence, “Save your dime, kids, no need to call. I’m good. I know where go. There’s gas in the tank. And I’ve done my research (such as it is) and I know who I am voting for. Go bug someone who is still undecided.” Maybe we need big red, white, and blue pins to go along with it, pins that read: “I am not undecided!”

Wednesday morning can’t come soon enough.