Howard Schultz legitimises the woes in third-party candidates
Former Starbucks CEO and billionaire, Howard Schultz, has expressed a desire to run for president as an independent candidate in 2020. In his quest to quell an moribund American political culture and oust an inherently toxic Trump, he has denounced the two-party system as tribal and ineffective.
Both the Republican and Democratic parties have rallied support by shifting further inwards on the political spectrum. The popularity of the progressive wing in Democratic circles has seen Elizabeth Warren announce a bid for the White House in 2020. Moreover, democratic socialists and their cult-like figure in Bernie Sanders have attempted to shift the traditionally centre liberal party to the far left corners. Little needs to be said to describe the nebulous far-right tendencies of the Republican party that catapulted Trump to be the leading contender in the 2016 race. Trump and his welcoming of the alt-right has an 88% approval rating amongst Republican politicians and voters.
Schultz’s attempt to be the beacon of centrist hope he believes America yearns for is a misstep on his part. His potential extraction of votes from Democratic voters due to his left-leaning policies may result in Trump’s victory in 2020, and another four years of hell for a nation exhausted from his vulgar antics. Although more demure and charismatic than the current president, they do not differ in their lack of previous experience in the political arena. Trump is leading the country like one of his businesses that probably saw bankruptcy. Schultz, pushing to convey competence, has vowed to not do the same. But, how is this possible when Schultz also only has business experience and has not yet endured the intense negotiations that coincide with working alongside three federal branches of government?
Furthermore, what else Schultz hasn’t comprehended is the large voter turnout that has been a result of tribalism. The midterm elections last November had the highest voter turnout for a midterm race since 1914. Pro-Trump voters turned out in force to sustain a robust conservative Senate. Whilst the ardent anti-Trump voters on the left voted in hordes with an aim to overrule Congress to potentially impeach the president. Schultz will never win the electoral college or popular vote when the American two-party system is still embedded in their politics. The two-party system is broken when the presidency has never been willing to form a coalition. An electorate of over 250 million are just expected to align with only two viable party options. It is improbable that the electorate will suddenly change course and vote for an independent.
With centrism becoming outmoded on the spectrum of politics, Schultz seems to be out of touch with the current political mood in his country. Third party candidates in previous elections have never achieved electoral success. Ross Perot of the Reform party famously won 18.9% of the popular vote in 1996 but didn’t manage to achieve any points in the electoral college. The same happened in the most recent general election of 2016. Third party nominees, Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, took 3.28% and 1.07% of the popular vote respectively. It is arguable that they snatched votes from a heavily experienced and competent Hillary Clinton, who had to concede to the the electoral vote although the popular vote was in her favour. This is a perfect example of how third party options could do more damage than good.
It will be interesting to see if Schulz does confirm his candidacy for the White House. An embattled Trump would smirk to know an independent could be catastrophic to his Democratic opponent. With the Democratic primary expected to be large, an independent in Schultz doesn’t seem fit. If Schultz detests Trump equal to his left-leaning counterparts, then he should leave his political ambitions for an election where Trumpism has been left in the past.
