Link
Former Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz said Sunday that he is preparing to launch an independent
campaign for president, rebuffing growing Democratic concern that such a move would help re-elect President
Trump. A self-funded independent campaign by a well-known billionaire focused on attacking the two-party
duopoly that has long defined presidential politics has the potential to reshape the dynamics of the race.
“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,”
states Schultz. Democrats fear a credible third-party candidacy could allow Trump to win states he otherwise would
have lost or push a decision on the election to the U.S. House, where Republicans currently have an advantage in
the number of state delegations they control. Their worry is that a three-way race would split Trump’s opposition,
while the president’s support would remain intact. His interest in an independent campaign is based on the recent
ideological drift of both political parties, which have embraced more ideologically ambitious proposals in recent
years, even as the number of Americans registering as independents has risen. Schultz also has said the country
needs to “go after entitlements,” programs such as Social Security and Medicare, and favors a path to citizenship
for undocumented immigrants and rejoining the Paris climate accords, and he criticized the Democratic promise
of “free health care” for all as unrealistic.
Former Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz said Sunday that he is preparing to launch an independent
campaign for president, rebuffing growing Democratic concern that such a move would help re-elect President
Trump. A self-funded independent campaign by a well-known billionaire focused on attacking the two-party
duopoly that has long defined presidential politics has the potential to reshape the dynamics of the race.
“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,”
states Schultz. Democrats fear a credible third-party candidacy could allow Trump to win states he otherwise would
have lost or push a decision on the election to the U.S. House, where Republicans currently have an advantage in
the number of state delegations they control. Their worry is that a three-way race would split Trump’s opposition,
while the president’s support would remain intact. His interest in an independent campaign is based on the recent
ideological drift of both political parties, which have embraced more ideologically ambitious proposals in recent
years, even as the number of Americans registering as independents has risen. Schultz also has said the country
needs to “go after entitlements,” programs such as Social Security and Medicare, and favors a path to citizenship
for undocumented immigrants and rejoining the Paris climate accords, and he criticized the Democratic promise
of “free health care” for all as unrealistic.
Questions:
1.Do you think Schultz’s decision to run as independent will indirectly help Trump in re-elections?2.How do you think Americans will vote, due to Schultz’s inexperience in politics?
3.Why do you think there is a rise of wealthy businessmen running to be our president? Do you think they are qualified to become the president?
Schultz running may indirectly help Trump get elected. if Schultz wins 15 to 20 percent of the vote trump could win less than 50 percent of the vote and still win the presidency.there are moderate democrats that would vote for him because Many of the mainstream democratic canidates are fairly radical and can be alienating to many Americans in the middle of the country. so some moderate democrats may break away and vote for Schultz instead of the democratic nominee. some more moderate Americans would vote for Schultz due to his ideas and being more moderate.
ReplyDeleteSchultz's decision to run as an independent may very well indirectly help Trump get elected. His ideas for improvement of entitlement programs, although not as idealistic as the Democratic promise of "free health care", may attract more moderate Democrats and ultimately take voters away from the Democrats. As a result, Trump may have less competition from the Democratic Party. Schultz's inexperience in politics does not seem to be enough to cause a significant impact to his hopeful career in politics as current president Trump also had no political career before presidency. Judging from this information, Schultz seems to be pretty moderate which may appeal to voters who dislike the increasingly polar and extreme views of the Republican and Democratic parties. Meanwhile, I believe there is a rise of wealthy businessmen running to be president because Trump is a good example of an ex-business man having a successful run. Moreover, as businessmen, politics has directly affected them potentially more than the average middle class family. Therefore, I do not think that they are unqualified to join politics. However, I do think that they may in general lack knowledge on politics related to topics like military and political foreign affairs. Because dealing with foreign affairs is an important job of the president, I do not think businessmen are qualified to become president unless they have good knowledge in this area.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Schutlz's decision to run for president wouldn't take votes away from Trump, or at least it would be so insignificant that it wouldn't affect the election. This is because Schutlz is an independent and political outsider, who needs much more political clout to receive more recognition. The way that Americans vote, Schultz would probably have a hard time trying to gather votes because of his inexperience and lack of a party. I believe that we should let the voters decide if these candidates are qualified enough to run.
ReplyDeleteI think that Schultz's decision to run for President as an independent could directly affect the election, since it could take away some support from the Democratic Party. I think that to make significant changes in the 2020 elections, it is important for Democrats to create a united front. President Trump will certainly not give up his job easily and his radical agenda which cracks down on immigration, border control, and "putting America first" could continue to attract many voters. Therefore, I believe that Schultz's campaign for presidency could help take potential votes from Democratic voters, directly helping Trump's election. However, it is still a question of how much this would affect the overall election process, and if Schultz's votes would be significant enough to affect presidential success for Trump.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Schultz's decision to run for President as an independent will affect the outcome of the 2020 election because having an independent and a democratic who attract similar groups will divide the group. However, his candidacy will not decrease the number of voters for Trump. This dilution could increase the chance of reelection for Trump. However, it is unsure that Schultz would even receive any voters anyways due to his lack of political experience. Because the previous business man elected for president has not been the most effective president, I do not think he will get many votes.
ReplyDeleteAmerica is currently a two party system government and I think the two party system is too strong to be broken by an independent third runner without an official party right now. This may hurt the Democrat’s campaign because realistically their support would be split between the third party and the Democratic party. This still leaves Trump’s unyielding support fully behind him, potentially giving him an advantage. While Schultz is very politically inexperienced I think there will be some people who vote for him, however, I still think most of his votes will go to either of the two parties. I think the recent rise of businessmen running for office it because they have the time and money for ambitions like the presidency. But I personally think an official position is just fun for them and that their interests still remain in business, so if they are elected their policies will be tailored to benefit the economy and their side investments.
ReplyDeleteIf Schultz is truly interested in getting Trump out of office he would be running for the democratic ticket. As stated in the article, gaining enough support would make it so that it would be impossible for a democrat to win the presidency. Additionally, I think that his candidacy is dangerous for America. We do not need a billionaire to replace another billionaire in the office of the presidency. This would set a dangerous precedent that money can buy the office of the president. More practically, a former senator or elected official should be the next President of the United States with the experience and will of the people they would have.
ReplyDeleteI remember in the 2016 election I heard a lot of "if you vote for anyone but Hillary, that vote goes to Trump" phrases. I think that this will be a similar concern for people who want to vote for Schultz. Because of how polarized our country is and that Schultz is more democratic leaning than republican, it is very plausible that if he becomes a legitimate candidate, it will take votes away from other democratic candidates. It is hard to claim that a business man like Schultz is not fit to be President our current one has a similar background, however, I think that having experience in politics should be a necessary quality when running for president.
ReplyDeleteIt seems there are only two parties, Trump and not Trump. Therefore, if Schultz were to run as a third party instead of as a Democrat or Republican, then, historically speaking, it is very unlikely Schultz will end up winning, and it is more probable that he will take votes away from the democrat party candidate, thereby helping Trump become re-elected. Until Schultz enters the debates or gives speeches, most Americans will probably doubt his legitimacy as a candidate since they most likely see him as simply the CEO of a beverage shop. Trump however, was also an outsider business man and he was able to get elected, therefore I do not think it is impossible for Schultz to be elected president as well. I think the wealthy business man demonstrates an understanding of how to interact with others successfully, which is important for diplomacy in politics with other world leaders, which is why Schultz shouldn't be discounted.
ReplyDeleteToday's society, with media attention on candidates becoming shorter and shallower, candidates with a defining personality seem to receive more attention than candidates with legitimate qualifications for office. In the 2016 election, Trump won not because of outstanding qualifications for the office of president but because of his personality that grabbed the attention of the people. This shallow, sensational media coverage explains why wealthy businessmen with no background in politics are running for political office. In order to combat this trend, people need to do thorough research about candidates and vote for the candidates whose interests align with theirs and who will perform well in political office, not for who has the most engaging personality.
ReplyDeleteI think with the unique set he brings to the election, he will bring just as much harm as help to the Trump campaign, if the Trump campaign even happens. I think he'll probably flop, but if he's able to put together a sensible basis of political knowledge, he will definitely gain attention and perhaps a portion of the vote. I wouldn't call two wealthy businessmen a "rise" in the sense that it's a trend. Most of those running are still mainly political figures, the two businessmen running just happen to be very high profile. I don't feel like I'd regard anyone as truly qualified to become president. There are so many responsibilities and so many areas of expertise to handle, no one can be truly ready to take on the job.
ReplyDeleteI think that Schultz's campaign is more likely to help Trump more than Democrats. Trump's supporters seem likely to stick with him and they seem to be fairly satisfied with what he's doing as a president. Schultz's ideals seem likely to draw away a fair amount of Democratic moderates who may be unsatisfied about the candidates. I feel like Schultz could get a fair amount of support because his ideals seem reasonable and not overly radical. Many believe that in order to have America running smoothly, we need to address Social Security and Medicare as well as immigration, so I feel like running on these two agendas will help grow support for him greatly. I don't know how much support this will equate to, but I wouldn't surprise if it greatly impacts the election in 2020. I agree with Daniel that this "rise" isn't necessarily a trend. But, I do feel like "outsiders" actually have a chance in politics now because there are many new ways to reach voters through the internet. In addition, there's a growing mindset that having people with political inexperience will help make politics more honest.
ReplyDelete