# Howard Schultz considers run; urged against. **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 27, 2019, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511 "2019-01-27T23:58:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/181 "2019-01-31T05:05:28Z")
He’s not running. It’s a tour for his stupid book, [released two days ago](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/564768/from-the-ground-up-by-howard-schultz/9780525509448/). He’s not Kamala Harris, releasing books _and_ running for President. He’s not even Mike Huckabee. He’s not even Herman Cain. This is a stunt to sell books, and he will drop out in a few _weeks._ ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/182 "2019-01-31T08:59:27Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > He’s not running. It’s a tour for his stupid book, [released two days ago](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/564768/from-the-ground-up-by-howard-schultz/9780525509448/). He’s not Kamala Harris, releasing books _and_ running for President. He’s not even Mike Huckabee. He’s not even Herman Cain. This is a stunt to sell books, and he will drop out in a few _weeks._ I agree. Political campaigning is really really expensive and if he’s going to campaign as a third-party candidate he’d do a better job keeping himself warm by literally burning the cash instead. Being rich does not guarantee one’s success (although it is certainly better to have money and not need it than to need it and not have it) and Schultz doesn’t have that shock factor that worked so well for Trump. It’s like: Trump: I’m an asshole! Voters: But you’re OUR asshole! Schultz: I’m a middle of the road politician who’s going to make everything better! Voters: Never heard that one before… ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/183 "2019-01-31T10:03:24Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I remember two years ago when many liberals were brimming with confidence that after a few years of President Trump, the Republican brand would be so badly damaged that there was NO WAY he could win again, and that Republicans would have to hang their heads in shame, beg for forgiveness, etc. Do you now see how wildly off-base those predictions were? You’re right and we were wrong. We made the foolish assumption that Trump’s supporters were capable of feeling shame. > [@foolsguinea](#): > > He’s not running. It’s a tour for his stupid book, [released two days ago](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/564768/from-the-ground-up-by-howard-schultz/9780525509448/). He’s not Kamala Harris, releasing books _and_ running for President. He’s not even Mike Huckabee. He’s not even Herman Cain. This is a stunt to sell books, and he will drop out in a few _weeks._ So he’s Marianne Williamson. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/184 "2019-01-31T11:58:01Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I remember two years ago when many liberals were brimming with confidence that after a few years of President Trump, the Republican brand would be so badly damaged that there was NO WAY he could win again, and that Republicans would have to hang their heads in shame, beg for forgiveness, etc. Do you now see how wildly off-base those predictions were? And instead we have Republicans denying primary challenges to Trump. I wonder what they’re worried about. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/185 "2019-01-31T12:50:46Z")
> [@](#): > > This experience informs Schultz’s current flirtation with an independent bid for president. “My exposure to their financial trials had instilled in me an aversion to debt,” he writes early in From the Ground Up. And that aversion is the centerpiece—the only piece, really—of his nascent proto-campaign platform. “ **If America was a company at $21.5 trillion of debt―adding a trillion dollars a year―we would be facing insolvency** ,” Schultz said on Monday night at an event promoting his book. > **[Howard Schultz Learned All the Wrong Lessons From His Childhood](https://newrepublic.com/article/152998/howard-schultz-learned-wrong-lessons-childhood)** > > Why is the former Starbucks CEO obsessed with the national debt? Because his father fell on hard times. (Bolding mine.) That’s not how this works. That’s not how _any_ of this works! For god’s sake, this guy runs a major company, and he doesn’t understand how debt works? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/186 "2019-01-31T13:35:31Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Perot turned out to be a nutjob and got 19%. Perot proves a third party candidate can do well. When he dropped out of the race in July, he was polling around 30-35% and for a few weeks had actually been winning. If he had not publically gone berzerk, and had stayed in, there is little doubt he would have done better than 19%; I don’t think he could have won, but 25-28 percent is very possible, and it is quite possible he could have won Maine, Utah, Alaska, and/or a few other smaller states. And hell, you never know. The thing is, Ross Perot, however fucking nuts he was, was a charismatic guy. Perot was an early bellwether of some elements of campaigning Donald Trump proved: 1. Simple, simple, simple. Simple messaging and sound bites destroy complex answers. Efforts to provide the public with nuance simply don’t matter; they are always stomped by simple appeals to emotion. People still remember “Giant sucking sound.” It was simple, visual, memorable. It worked. His only other policy I can recall was his opposition to the Gulf War, which wasn’t a super popular position to have but it was simple, and set him apart from anyone else. 1. Don’t apologize. Just barrel along. 2. Charisma matters. George H.W. Bush was, midway through his Presidency, so popular that it was a common late night talk show joke that the Democrats had already given up in the 1992 election. In the end, though, he was up against two candidates that were immensely more charismatic; he was a good statesman, but he was boring. Perot had charisma. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/187 "2019-01-31T14:14:12Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Um, many many. > > Monopolistic practices. > Lying. > Outright theft. > Lowering cost by avoiding regulation. > Bribery. > Lobbying for protectionist governmental policies. > Union-busting to avoid paying higher wages. > > That’s just the start. History is replete with examples of corporations pursuing policies that are clearly counter-customer best-interest to enhance revenue. Even lives are not always enough to control such impulses. > > If such things didn’t happen routinely we wouldn’t need regulatory bodies like the EPA, FDA, Department of Labor and so forth. Those things are against the law. Why do we need to distribute resources after those have been outlawed. See what you stepped in there? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/188 "2019-01-31T14:24:08Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Those things are against the law. Why do we need to distribute resources after those have been outlawed. See what you stepped in there? And yet there’s a long history of those things happening and continuing to happen in America. Why does your argument exclude all the lessons of basic US labor history? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/189 "2019-01-31T14:37:05Z")
the GOP brand is hurt by Trump but it seems like he may not be impacted by it so far. Reminds me of the teflon Don, John Gotti, Trump is a bit of a teflon president . If he runs in 2020 we will see if the teflon is still there. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/190 "2019-01-31T16:49:30Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > And yet there’s a long history of those things happening and continuing to happen in America. Why does your argument exclude all the lessons of basic US labor history? Ok. So the government can’t prosecute its own laws. Sounds like a you problem. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/191 "2019-01-31T16:53:23Z")
No, it’s an America problem. Again, why does your argument exclude all the lessons of basic US labor history? ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/192 "2019-01-31T17:20:26Z")
I think US labor history has been badly written since it was written almost entirely by marxists and other socialists. You must be aware of bias in this field as is a cliche at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/193 "2019-01-31T18:34:22Z")
That’s odd, because usually history is written by the winners. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/194 "2019-01-31T20:57:38Z")
Schultz got the city of Seattle to give him the right to build a driveway through a city park that went direct to his private property, and didn’t compensate them for it, including using the park as a construction staging site. After having re-landscape the public park to meet his personal needs, he then moved out of the property to another part of the city. And apparently citizens of Seattle are still bitter over his sale of the Seattle SuperSonics. [Howard Schultz built a driveway through a park: This is why he shouldn't be president | Salon.com](https://www.salon.com/2019/01/31/what-howard-schultzs-driveway-debacle-says-about-him-america-and-the-billionaire-class/)? ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/195 "2019-01-31T20:58:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > That’s odd, because usually history is written by the winners. Different domains have different battles and different victors. Academia and journals are different domains than corporations. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/196 "2019-01-31T21:38:14Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I remember two years ago when many liberals were brimming with confidence that after a few years of President Trump, the Republican brand would be so badly damaged that there was NO WAY he could win again, and that Republicans would have to hang their heads in shame, beg for forgiveness, etc. Do you now see how wildly off-base those predictions were? Republicans _should_ hang their heads in shame and we don’t yet know if the prediction is true or not. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/197 "2019-01-31T22:01:15Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > So lay your bets. > > Drops out, > > Wins Naderish share, maybe 3%, > > Or more? > > I’ll take “drops out” having accomplished what he wanted to accomplish which is not winning an election. > > He wants to sell the idea that economic populism and democratic socialism is a losing message for the Democratic party. As one of the few with the concentrated wealth and power in this country of course he believes that. The prospect of a president who embraces the economic progressive Left scares him. For him even Trump is better than that. > > He is wrong of course. Optimizing millennial turnout and appealing to working class whites, especially the Obama-Trump voters, will work _best_ with some economic populism messaging as part of the mix. Meanwhile there are just not too many Ds (or leaners) who will vote for Trump rather than vote for a D who is too Left on economic issues. If he were a normal person who needed support from donors to stay in the race, I’d be confident he’d be out very shortly after getting in. but he could theoretically finance a full-scale campaign out of his pocket, and I have no idea what the chance of him deciding to do that is. Even in that case, I’d be very surprised if he cracked 5%. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/198 "2019-01-31T22:54:54Z")
> [@MortSahlFan](#): > > I don’t believe in spoiler-hysteria – I don’t mind who runs, but if this guy thinks the Democratic Party is too far left is a liar, because he can’t be this dumb. It’s not even centre-left! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/199 "2019-02-01T02:31:42Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > :rolleyes: What does “left” mean to you, anyway? What typifies someone who is demonstrably left-of-center (for some version of “center” you wish to define)? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511/200 "2019-02-01T02:37:51Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > and yet with all that the Dems appear to be super scared they can’t beat him in 2020. ( all that stuff plus the really bad job he’s been doing for 2 years. ) As I’ve said before, I’m not concerned that Trump will win. But I am worried that the Republicans will arrange things so he “wins”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/howard-schultz-considers-run-urged-against/828511.md?page=11)