No Party Preference vs Independent

I'm glad sometimes I'm smarter than I think.  When I registered to vote, I registered myself as 'no party preference' vs. independent.

That's going to make a BIG difference this election cycle.

In California registering yourself as 'independent' is locking you into the independent party, if you will.  Registering yourself as 'no party preference' is not locking you into any political party at all.  This little detail has caught many Californians off guard who registered themselves as independents thinking it meant no party preference.  For once, I must have read the fine print and thought about it prior to registering.  Too bad I don't remember doing it.

Unless you're a career ass kisser (oops, I meant politician) with running for office in mind,  I can't imagine WHY regular citizens would vow themselves to a political party.  It's stupid.

Which brings me to June 7 and my California voter information guide.  My one bit of over-simplified voting advice?  Trace the source of money contributions to each candidate and to each ballot measure.  You can get an overview of who's for or against what by following the money trail.  Sometimes they get sneaky and try to break down individual contributions, rather than the larger PAC contributions, into amounts that are almost non-traceable and just below the maximum allowed for individuals, but where's there's smoke, there's fire.  Just look who's running the PAC and an internet search will unveil the key players.