As an “unaffiliated” or Independent voter in North Carolina I have the unique luxury of voting in either the Republican or Democratic primary on May 6. According to statistics released by the State Board of Elections, as of the first of the year, Independents make up 21 percent of the state’s voting population. As a member of that 1.17 million-strong-voting-cohort, I feel empowered, like I have more to say or some additional influence in the election process because I am able to cast my ballot strategically. In past elections I have voted in both parties’ primaries.

My decision on which primary to vote in is usually based on my desire to vote against a particular candidate. Although I have no idea who I will ultimately vote for in the race for the President of the United States, I do know that I will not be voting for Senator Hillary Clinton, Democrat from New York. My hard line stance against Sen. Clinton has nothing to do with her policy stances or her political leanings. My position is merely grounded in the fact that I no longer want to see a Bush or Clinton in the White House. I simply can’t get over that fact.

If Clinton is elected to office and serves her entire term, America will have been lead by members of the Bush and Clinton clans for 20 years, starting in 1989 with the administration of George Herbert Walker Bush. If Sen. Clinton were to be re-elected, that would tack on additional four years to that figure.

Twenty-four years of executive rule by two ingrained political families is unacceptable and outside the realm of our Founding Father’s intentions. This is especially true because the Bushes and Clintons simply blame each other for the problems facing our nation.

The country is already cursed with political dynasties in Congress. Take for example two polarizing figures in the U.S. Senate — Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Ted Stevens (R-AK) — who have spent 46 and 40 years respectively wandering the hall of the legislature. Our part-time elected leaders, through the use of their legislative power, have turned an avocation into an occupation. (Please note the double meaning of occupation here — one’s job or profession and a conquest or control of a nation.)

Politicians have entrenched themselves into the Washington scene with six-figure salaries, oversized staffs, bloated budgets and a tax-payer-funded health care plan that make’s even billionaire Bill Gates jealous. Unfortunately the size and scope of our representative democracy, especially the United States Congress, has gone amuck.

So no, I will not allow the Bush/Clinton empire to continue their strangle hold on the executive branch of government. Therefore I will not be voting for Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Presidential Primary. It may not matter though, I might just vote in the Republican primary. I hear that Mike Huckabee guy wants to abolish the Internal Revenue Service…

The last day to register to vote for the May primary is April 11.

Tell Andrew who you will vote for in the primary elections. E-mail him at [email protected]