Election 2020: Run Howard Run!

Howard Schultz, the former Starbucks CEO, is making his Independent bid for President very real.

I cannot wait to see him tear the Democratic Party apart, they have become so left-wing, so anti-social in their push for socialism.

Check out his Op-Ed in USA Today below, and I will add my comments between the lines, as always:

Howard Schultz: A third-party centrist candidate like me could win thepresidency in 2020

Imagine if our country were more united. If we were stronger, safer, more respected, fair, compassionate and prosperous.

Why don't we talk about why there is so much disunity, however?

I submit that there is one class who is paying, and another class who is taking, and I am not talking abotu those who are poor or who are down on their luck dependent. There is too much corporate welfare, too much corruption, pay-for-play. Too much government is handing out too many favors, perks, and kickbacks. All of this is wrong!

Imagine if more elected leaders collaborated, unselfishly put country over party, and were only beholden to the best ideas that serve the interests of more Americans.

Imagine if our president were tough but not cruel. If he were dignified, told the truth, and was a commonsense problem-solver.

That sounds like a fantasy or a Divine Intervenor.

Imagine if our founding ideals of freedom and equality, and the promise of opportunities such as education and jobs, were more fully realized.

Imagine if every voice mattered, and every vote counted, in every state.

Only the voices of those who live in this country legally, citizens, only their voices should matter. Only their voices should count. This distinction is essential, and no one should diminish that fact.

These are not outlandish goals but essential conditions for thriving democracy. And they are possible to achieve despite the chaos of our times. I believe this because I’ve spent my life trying to reimagine better futures — for myself, for the company I led, and for people in communities.

Schultz already loses. We are not a democracy, but a constitutional republic. OUCH!

Today, I ask you to join me in imagining a better America.

After Donald Trump, we need a Washington outsider like Jimmy Carter in the 2020 race

The last presidential 'unity ticket' was in 1864. We need another bipartisan pair in 2020.

That unity ticket was a Republican--Abraham Lincoln, and a Democrat--Andrew Johnson. The political upheaval which followed was a pretty trying time for the country. Radical Republicans wanted to do everything they could to enfranchise black Americans, and Democrat Andrew Johnson seemed determined to frustrate those efforts.

Americans want 'someone entirely new' from Democrats for 2020. Let's deliver that.

Becoming better begins by repairing our broken two-party system, which is why I am seriously considering running for president of the United States as a centrist independent. I will spend the next few months deciding by traveling the country, and listening to my fellow Americans.

This guy needs to listen to working Americans who were tired of their jobs being shipped overseas. He needs to listen to everyday Americans who want the border secure and public safety enhanced.

I already believe that the idea of a third choice will resonate.

Our two parties are not working for most Americans. Sixty-six percent of likely voters say “neither party is really representing my needs or interests,” according to a recent No Labels/HarrisX poll.

No party can represent the needs of every American. We need to lose this idea that the right President in the White House is going to solve all our problems. The United States is so much more than political representation!

I have met so many people who feel frustrated and ignored because the party they once proudly embraced now embraces extreme ideologies and revenge politics over sensible solutions and collaborative problem-solving. Polarization and divisiveness among Republicans and Democrats are spoiling the potential of our country, making it possible for a new choice to emerge.

Granted, but why ahs this divide become so severe? What is causing this ongoing crisis of conflict in the country?

Americans want something besides partisanship

Millions of voters already crave a better choice. Fifty-seven percent of Americans say a “third major party is needed,” according to Gallup. It’s even higher among millennials. Gallup also reports that 39 percent of Americans already identify as independents. While independent voices are diverse, they have in common a dissatisfaction with the status quo, and a desire to fix it.

Again, what issues does Schultz want to deal with? Saying no to socialism is OK. But what about securing the border? Will he stop the overseas interventionism? Will he put American manufacturing on a firm footing? He needs to understand that as an outsider businessman, just like Donald Trump, he will face the same Deep State so set in its ways. Does he intend to change it all? How?!

A formidable third choice for president also has a chance to succeed for the first time since George Washington because this precise moment in history is uniquely perilous, and brimming with possibility. The toxic mix of social and fiscal challenges, extreme ideological divisions and political dysfunction threatens to deteriorate the greatest democracy in human history. How can elected officials solve complex problems such as unaffordable health care, a crumbling national infrastructure, a debilitating national debt, unequal access to education and employment, and disappearing middle-class jobs if our leaders cannot hold a productive conversation — or keep the government open?

Once again -- we are not a democracy. The fact that Howard does not understand this is a strong reason why the country is facing such an existential crisis. The United States was not designed to be governed by mob rule. The federal government was never supposed to be so big and offer so much to the states and the people. Most of its funding, its operations are now so outside the scope of the Original Charter, that it's no wonder that so much division has become the norm!

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history that ended Friday was an unnecessary event that put thousands of workers and their families in financial straits, proving that many in our political class are more interested in fighting each other than working for the people they represent.

I disagree. The shutdown which overtook Washington DC proved a number of things:

1. The federal government is not required for the country to function.

2. Democrats and Republicans are more interested in protecting their special projects and donors than doing what is best for the people.

3. President Trump is facing unparalleled opposition to accomplishing the basic requirements of the federal government. 

The 2020 election gives us an exciting opportunity to stop this chaos. Donald Trump is unfit for office and must not be president for four more years. A successful run by a centrist independent could do more than replace him, but simultaneously fix a broken system that prioritizes the needs of the special interests over the interests of working Americans.

The system is not broken, Howard. It's accurately reflecting the deep divisions which have festered in this country.

I won't run for president unless I think I can win

Running for president should not be undertaken without intense preparation. I promise that I will not seek the presidency unless I believe it is possible to win, and for me to govern well. Should I run, I will be on the ballot in all 50 states. To decide, I will spend the next few months continuing to learn, listen, talk with people, hear their stories and understanding what people need — and whether they are ready for a new choice.

We need this guy on the ballot in all 50 states. We need him to prove how demented, how insane the Democratic Party has become. They are embracing secularism, socialism, and stupidity on a level unprecedented in human history. They should not have the reins of power in any way shape, or form. The only way they win elections is through importing third-world peasant voters, cheating, fraud, and outright deceit.

Today, I ask that people get to know me. I grew up in Brooklyn’s public housing projects. My father was a working-class guy who got fired from his job delivering diapers after an accident. He had no health insurance and our family had no savings. His body healed, but his spirit remained shattered. I’ve never forgotten that.

So, he wants to play up working-class roots. Will people buy into that, though? Starbucks has gone on a social justice warrior kick for the last five years, and most people have not forgotten that. This Schultz guy is a perfect example of a rich man who has forgotten his meager roots. I don't care if he lived in the projects in New York City. Most Democrats and liberal independents start out as liberal wards of the state, and all the wealth in the world does not make them more conservative.

The only inheritance I received was my mother’s belief that I could create a better life for myself. I became the first in my family to go to college and joined Starbucks in 1982, when it only had four stores. I have lived the American dream thanks to hard work, a little luck, kindness from strangers, and countless people who helped me build Starbucks. Today, the company has nearly 30,000 stores, has employed more than 3 million people around the world over almost five decades, and ranks as Fortune magazine’s  fifth most admired company.

The company also expanded way too fast, and they declared war on Christmas. They also engaged in empathy training for employees, taking cues from protesters who have never worked a day in their lives. Where is the courage needed to run an entire country?

I did not set out to build a big company. I set out to create the kind of company that my father never got a chance to work for, one that treated people with dignity. That’s why Starbucks offered health insurance and stock ownership to part-time workers more than 20 years ago, when doing so was unheard of. It’s why the company gives baristas a chance to get a  tuition-free college education. This spring, more than 3,000 employees will have graduated. Many, like me, are the first in their family to go to college.

As a private enterprenuer, Schultz can do whatever he wants to with his profit margin. The idea that he is going to push these perks onto every American through government subsidy, however, is flat-out ridiculous.

A business is not a proxy for the country. Even so, the intentions of Starbucks do reflect the business of our country, which has long been to try to balance humanity and prosperity.

There is no humanity without prosperity. Capitalism has heart, and the free enterprise system has helped lift more people out of poverty than other conceived economic system or agenda. It sounds like this capitalist is just another enemy of capitalism.

I hope you will consider my potential entry not just because I built a successful business, but also because of what I learned along the way: the importance of the dignity of work, the power of community, what’s possible when people come together for a shared purpose.

If I decide to run, it will be because of an abundance of Americans who share an optimistic vision for renewal, and who have come forward to bring it to fruition.

Optimism with a reason for being optimistic -- this is already doomed to fail.

For now, let’s begin to imagine what we can do together. The choice in 2020 does not have to be between two parties, but about choosing country over partisanship.

Still, I do want Schultz to run, because his bid for President is going to complicate Democratic chances for unseating President Trump in 2020. His bid for President will make every state competitive. I like those odds!

To those who say an independent run would help ensure the re-election of Donald Trump, I say the two parties’ inability to come together to serve the people has created the opportunity for a centrist independent to be successful. To suggest that either party’s candidate could lose because of a third choice is intellectually dishonest. I am considering a run because members of both parties are not yet doing the job they were elected to do.

They will never do the job they were elected to do as long as Americans think they can have great things from the state without having to pay for them. As long as the government refuses to secure our borders and put the needs of American citizens first, it won't matter whatever else they promise.

And to those who insist a third choice cannot succeed, I say that to insist something cannot be done is as un-American as you can get. Together, we have what it takes to reimagine “us.”