by Anthony Noel

Well that was quick. One more long weekend and it’s “Adieu, summer.”

Meaning of course that next week, what we’ve increasingly taken to calling “silly season” begins. Its bombast will scream from our TVs and radios when we wake Tuesday morning, and it won’t stop for the next two months.

What these news outlets won’t tell you – won’t even mention – is that this November, almost 40 Progressive million voters have real options to the two corporate-owned parties.

The even-better news: The alternative candidates to which we refer have pledged to a uphold a platform of true Progressivism – one crowd-sourced and ratified by MyFDL readers, who also founded that document’s steward organization, the New Progressive Alliance (NPA), in 2010.

By then, Barack Obama’s total capitulation on key principles of Progressivism – from health care policy to workers’ rights – was obvious, the need for an organization dedicated to real Progressivism clear. Post-midterms activism morphed into brainstorming, followed by a founding process which charted NPA’s course. (Each of those links opens on a related MyFDL diary from NPA’s founding. If you prefer a synposis, it’s here.)

From 2012 through this year’s campaign, the Unified Platform – sown from the seeds of Progressive ideology – has been endorsed by more than 120 candidacies nationwide, for positions ranging from a seat on the Monroe County (FL) Mosquito Control Board to races for U.S. House (and Senate); from Mayor of Little Falls, Minnesota (pop. 8,288) to President of the United States; and from local school boards to a host of state legislatures. We are especially thrilled to have numerous repeat endorsers, who, we believe, are some of the smartest people we know. (Though we could be biased.)

This cycle, with your help, the NPA – the non-profit, 100-percent volunteer voice for true Progressivism you helped found – can take another important step. And we’re not asking for money.

As the fall campaign gears up over the next two weeks, we will feature in-depth bios and contact information of candidates who have endorsed the Unified Platform this cycle. We hope you’ll share the information widely, especially with friends and family eligible to vote in those candidate’s races. But we’re hoping you’ll do a little bit more.

Candidates recruit “poll watchers.” We want candidate watchers, people in the field observing and informing NPA what Platform endorsees are up to, and doing so through a decidedly Progressive lens. We’ll share your observations and impressions with readers here and at our web site.

Your impressions will help us in ranking these candidates’ Progressive cred, rankings we’ll post on October 15. NPA’s vote-worthiness scale will range from 1 (censured) to 5 (full endorsement). To be an NPA candidate watcher, write tonyn_at_newprogs.org, or volunteer here.

Both corporate parties have abandoned the humanist policies of true Progressivism – policies their forebears embraced, leading to our nation’s worldwide recognition as a bastion of individual rights tempered with a profound responsibility for ensuring every person’s basic needs were met. Finding our way back will require consistent, clear-eyed assessment of those who seek to represent us; nothing less than a Consumer Reports for voters. We’re building it, as part of a comprehensive resource for true Progressives.

Heads up, Texas!! Our series of candidate profiles for the 2014 election opens Tuesday with Kenneth Kendrick, a corporate whistleblower whose bravery saved countless lives. He now seeks to save Texans from the monied interests trying to control agriculture policy in the Lone Star State.

We bid you a great Labor Day weekend, and thank you in advance for helping NPA make a difference.

The New Progressive Alliance operates as a 501c4 educational organization (official status applied for January 13, 2014).