Thursday, August 13, 2015

Hillary Campaign "Pushy" Fund Raising Phone Calls

I just answered a call from area code 202-618-3393.  It turned out to be an over zealous Hillary Clinton campaign volunteer soliciting funds for the campaign.  I politely tried to tell the volunteer that I would give when I was inclined to give.  In other words I would donate money when I wanted to, with no reminders needed from anyone.  That's because I am an adult who knows how to manage my money (most of the time) and I run my life.  I don't go by the budget deadlines of a campaign staff or whatever federal rules exist on campaign fund raising.

Unfortunately the volunteer wasn't in a listening mode which is par for the course for many people who are politicians or wannabe politicians.  I felt like I was talking to someone from a cable TV company who was trying to get me to buy a bundle of services even though I didn't want them.  So, after my third try of letting the volunteer know that I already had the information on where to donate money (the volunteer wasn't listening, just following the script she had been given) I terminated the "discussion" by pushing a button to end the phone call.

The result of the phone call was that the volunteer ticked off a voter who doesn't like being told when to donate.  The volunteer made it seem as if life itself would come to an end if I didn't donate this exact moment.

I find that those who call themselves public servants have the characteristic of not listening or wanting to hear what people are saying.  Many "public servants" just want to talk about their own ideas on how to "solve" problems rather than listening to the concerns of people.  That, in my opinion, is a big mistake.

I understand that people running for office need money to finance parts of their campaign.  But, we don't need pushy overbearing volunteers demanding that we donate now.  Whomever is overseeing the fund raising part of Hillary's campaign should put out guidance to volunteers to not come across as overbearing money hoarders just looking to get the biggest volunteer "sales" totals.  Respect people's right to say, "not right now" or even better, "I will give when I want to."  Otherwise I will have to make a phone call to the above phone number and let the person know to calm it down some.