HuffPost’s Igor Bobic says that “Democrats Worry A Howard Schultz Presidential Bid Would Only Help Trump.” He  quotes Julian Castro, former HUD Secretary as saying “I do share that concern, if he did run… it would provide Trump with his best hope for getting re-elected,” adding “I would suggest to Mr. Schultz to truly think about the negative impact”

The Democratic Party of Washington state, where Starbucks is based, trolled the would-be candidate on Twitter.

I wouldn’t be so certain about how much an independent run by Schultz would hurt the Democrats.

If Trump ends up running in 2020 I think there will be many people who voted for him in 2016 who have serious buyers remorse. They may very well want to vote him out of office, but they are loath to vote for someone running as a Democrat.

I have no idea how Schultz will present himself since he is, after all, a Democrat. He could run as the business savvy multi-billionaire that made his money though true entrepreneurship. He could contrast his career with Trump’s because he truly started from nothing. “His family was poor, he saw an escape in sports such as baseball, football, and basketball, as well as the Boys Club. He went to Canarsie High School, from which he graduated in 1971. Schultz attended Northern Michigan University and was the first person in his family to go to college.” (Wikipedia)

To many he may be able to sell himself to disaffected and low information Trump voters as the guy who started Starbucks in stark contrast to the New York playboy who parlayed a phony success story into reality show stardom. He could modestly mention that he was named Fortune magazine’s 2011 Businessperson of the Year for his initiatives in the economy and job market.

While I certainly don’t think Schultz should enter the race as a an independent because he could be a spoiler for the Democrats, I think he could craft a middle of the road message which would appeal to a few Republicans, and even more independents, who voted for Trump.

In an interview set to air on “60 MInutes” HuffPost reports he will say  “We’re living at a most-fragile time. Not only the fact that this president is not qualified to be the president, but the fact that both parties are consistently not doing what’s necessary on behalf of the American people and are engaged, every single day, in revenge politics.” This is so wrong-headed I hardly know where to begin. How can he equate the revenge politics of Trump and the GOP with the Democrats survival in the age of Trumpism politics? Is this a remark just based on Speaker Pelosi’s hardball refusal to knuckle under to Trump’s demands?  I can’t think of any other example that could remotely be called Democrats engaging in revenge politics.

Most unfortunate is his saying that both parties are “not doing what’s necessary on behalf of the American people.”  Both parties? There is something horribly wrong with this comparison.

I question his the desire just put himself in the limelight and wonder about whether this is pure narcissism.  It could be that he just wants to hype his new book.  However, my primary gripe is with Steve Schmidt who signed on as a consultant to him. Schmidt was the manager for former Arizona Sen. John McCain’s Republican presidential campaign in 2008 and is a frequent never-Trump Republican guest on MSNBC known for his scathing comments and the president.

My feeling about his doing this is expressed in the tweet:

_______________________________________________________

UPDATES:

Newly Independent Howard Schultz Depicts Democrats As Health Care Radicals – HUFFPOST

Copyright © 2019 Capitol Hill Blue