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Sam Stroud
Staff Writer
When Howard Schultz announced there was a possibility he would run as an independent candidate in the 2020 presidential election, everyone left of John Kasich wet the bed.
Schultz presents a clear problem for the Democratic Party as he has become an icon for the moderate left, a section the Democrats are working very hard to steamroll by supporting politicians such as Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren.
There is a good reason for Democrats to be wary of this man since a POLITICO poll shows that a third of the Democratic Party would be open to supporting a third-party candidate while only a quarter of Republicans would be open to that idea.
If Democrats lost 33 percent of their voting base, there would be almost no way to vote President Trump out of the Oval Office. Of course, it is not likely the number of defections would be that high, but even if only a small group of voters peel away from the Democratic nominee, it could lead to several close losses in heavily contested states.
As usual, the Democrats have failed to respond in a positive manner. Instead of trying to open up their party to encompass the people within the party who clearly do not to see a President Elizabeth Warren, Democrats have taken turns telling Schultz not to run and spoil their chances to beat Trump.
Keep in mind, Howard Schultz is someone who financially supported Barack Obama during both of his presidential runs and has publicly supported the Democratic Party for decades. He isn’t a moderate Republican who is being villainized by the left; he is a Democrat.
The party has moved so far left now that someone who has openly fundraised for Planned Parenthood and has been a party donor for decades cannot win in a Democratic Party primary because he doesn’t want to eliminate private insurance companies from existence. This should concern everyone, not just Republicans.
Democrats need to take a look at their policies and positions on the issues they feel are important and ask themselves if they want to be a socialist party or not. If the answer is yes, then they should, by all means, continue in the direction they are trending. If it is no, then they need to pump the brakes on all this talk of $15 minimum wages and health care for all for free.
Schultz is providing the party an excellent opportunity to change course, but this can only happen if the Democratic Party understands how widely left it has become. This sadly seems unlikely.
