There was a very old woman who lived in a shack high in the hills of Tennessee. It seems she had no teeth left. Senator Howard Baker met her while campaigning for election. He asked for her vote. The old woman said simply, "I don't vote." Baker asked, "Really? Well, why don't you vote?" The woman replied, "It only encourages them." She belonged in the None-of-the-Above Party.

Register to vote. This is the vital step, of course. You can't cast your "None-of-the-above" ballot otherwise. As a member of this party, you can proudly boast of your loyalty. Everybody understands what it means. If, however, you do not register and you do not vote, your opinions will get you no respect, and may even earn you contempt as some kind of blow-hard hypocrite.

Let's say you truly are disgusted with the political parties. Let's say that you regard all the candidates for an office as equally poor. Let's use the race for city Mayor as an example. Go to the polling booth with pride and leave that choice BLANK. Simply don't vote for any of the candidates for Mayor. That's a way to send a message. The pros analyze this in their reporting. Both the candidates and the parties see that you are not happy.

"None-of-the-Above" is the opposite of the strategy of the Tennessee woman. If you do NOT register and if you do NOT vote, it only encourages them. The politicians think you don't care. They think they can ignore proposing solutions which help you. The politicos may conclude you are quite happy with things as they are. Bottom-line, if they don't count your vote, YOU don't count.

Even for a committed voter, loyal to one particular party, this strategy is useful when the candidates are bad. Rather than staying home, go vote and vote None-of-the-Above. It's a good vote in the primary election. It's a good vote in the general election. If None-of-the-Above is your preference, then vote it. It's cool.

The great questions for the politicians are: "What will it take to get this vote? What does this person want?" And, then, here's the payoff. The candidate and party say: "Next time I'm going to have to reach out to these None-of-the-Above voters. I need their votes." The None-of-the-Above vote drives the politicos, the consultants, and the reporters crazy.

You are now in a position to have 100 times the power of the typical voter. Here's how. Write a short letter to the candidate(s) and/or the party(s) and tell them why you voted None-of-the-Above, and perhaps why you even campaigned for None-of-the-Above. Was it the rising crime in your area? Closure of your local library branch? Pollution of the old city swimming hole? Whatever the issue important to you, you'll definitely have an impact.

If you are a citizen who feels that the politicians are not sincerely committed to your agenda, this is a great way to express yourself and vent your frustrations. Even today, well in advance of the next election, write that letter and make a few phone calls. Don't forget to let them know that you voted "None-of-the-Above" last time and will be voting next time. You can even have fun with it. Go for it!