I tried, I really, really tried, but I could not tolerate it anymore. In Reagan's first term, I left the Republican Party. For the next ten years I registered to vote as a "Decline to State" which is the only non-party affiliation category in our state.

In 2000, I joined the Democratic Party and once again I tried, I really, really tried. In 2004, I left the Democratic Party, registered "Decline to State" and joined a team of independent political activists working on the Rural-Urban Divide.

To this day, I remain a "Decline to State". While I cannot vote in party primaries, I never did have a say in who was running, so that was no loss.

David - I need to think this over. But right now, registering as a Green strikes me as a way to make my voter registration count again.