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Opinion: Possible Independent Presidential Candidate Schultz Is the Epitome of a Faux Ally

It takes a special kind of out-of-touch egotism to think you're going to save the country as an independent candidate.

Former Starbucks CEO billionaire Howard Schultz is publicly floating the idea of throwing his hat into the 2020 presidential race as an independent candidate. Unless this is all just a publicity stunt to help sell his new book, that could be bad news for Democrats and everyone else who isn't looking forward to another four years of a Trump presidency.

Schultz is positioning himself as the levelheaded moderate, taking on the lunacy of the left and right for the people. The trouble is, he's hardly a man of the people, even with his humble roots. He was recently shocked when told the cost of cereal, in his very own George Bush at the grocery store moment (although in Bush's case, it was more of an urban legend/misunderstanding of what actually occurred).

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WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 10: Executive Chairman of Starbucks Corporation Howard Schultz participates in a discussion at the Atlantic Council May 10, 2018 in Washington, DC. The Atlantic Council held a discussion on "The Role of a Global Public Company." (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

And despite saying "more Americans should participate in all elections, even those for city councils and school boards," during a Starbucks voter participation campaign, he has historically failed to do so himself.

State and county election records show that going back to 2005, Schultz has only deemed voting worthwhile in 11 of 38 elections, The Seattle Times reports. Elections he has sat out on include most state and local elections, and the 2014 midterms, when Republicans retook the Senate.

Because it's easy not to cast your ballot when the decisions made won't affect your life nearly as much as lower-income Americans.

Schultz received praise from progressives when he told a Starbucks shareholder who was upset the company's support of marriage equality had resulted in a boycott that hurt the bottom line that if he didn't like it, he could just sell his shares. While that was a bold statement, and one that should be applauded, supporting marriage equality is a low bar to clear unless you're a bigot. A much higher bar is considering how your actions could negatively impact the LGBTQ community, as well as people of color, and other disenfranchised groups who have continuously taken a proverbial beating under the Trump administration.

While Schultz says he doesn't want to see Trump get re-elected—and seems to believe he has a fighting chance of stopping him—the odds of an independent candidate doing anything other than taking votes away from the side they are most aligned with (in this case, Democrats) is slim-to-none.

Even Ross Perot, who won a larger percentage of the vote than any independent candidate since 1912, couldn't manage to win a single state. Schultz, like Perot before him, may have a big enough ego to think he has a shot at the White House, but that doesn't mean it will happen. The biggest impact he can realistically hope to have is helping the man he claims to not want to see booted from the Oval Office get to stick around for four more years.

Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty Images

NEW YORK - JANUARY 29: Howard Schultz guest stars on CBS This Morning with Co-Anchors: Norah O'Donell, John Dickerson and Bianna Golodryga. (Photo by Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty Images)

Tellingly, Schultz's rhetoric so far has been more focused on taking out Democrats than Trump. That's no mistake.

In fact, it's his core strategy. The self-described "life-long Democrat" knows his only path to success is in making the general public see him, not a Democratic candidate, as the preferred anti-Trump vote.

Schultz has taken particular aim at economically progressive ideas, such expanding Medicare and taxing the wealthy, calling those proposals "not American," "misinformed," and "ridiculous."

What a surprise that a billionaire would take issue with such reform efforts that might make his cushy life one iota less cushy, even if it means a better quality of life for millions of his fellow Americans. In particular, those who are members of the LGBTQ community and people of color, who are statistically more likely to suffer from a lack of access to healthcare, decent wages, and benefits.

Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images

MILAN, ITALY - MAY 07: Howard Schultz, Executive Chairman of Starbucks speaks during Seeds&Chips Summit on May 7, 2018 in Milan, Italy.The summit, which runs from May 7 until May 10, focuses on food innovation and discusses the urgent challenges faced by the food and farming industry (Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)

Howard Schultz is a lot of things, but an ally is not one of them. And it is clear that in order to turn this country around, and get Trump out of office, he will have to be dispensed with quickly, should he decide to run.

The Democrats would be wise to team up and start taking as many shots at him as he is taking against them should he officially announce his candidacy. Until then, it's probably best for them to ignore him, in hopes of not providing more attention to his efforts. In the meantime, if you check his Twitter account, you'll see the American people are taking care of knocking the egotistical blowhard down a few pegs. Let's hope his ears aren't too stuffed with obscene profits to hear the calls from the peasant class.

Because one thing is for sure: The last thing we need in this country in 2019 is another uber-rich white man telling those who are suffering that their solutions go too far. It's not time for progressives to take a seat, it's time for faux progressive, non-allies to sit down and leave governance to those who seek to correct the disaster this country is becoming, not those who simply like to see their name in print.

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