<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Potential presidential candidate Howard Schultz had his first “town hall” event last month with CNN and has a second one scheduled with<em> Fox News</em> in April &#8211;</span><span class="s1"> and he hasn’t even decided if he’s running. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Democrats are furious with all the attention he’s getting because Schultz is planning to run as a “Centrist Independent.&#8221; </span><span class="s1">This is great news for conservatives, because it means his campaign will siphon votes away from the Democratic nominee and potentially help Trump get re-elected.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">In response to that opinion, Schultz said his campaign would attract support from all parties and warned Democrats they were guaranteed to lose if they nominate a “progressive left-leaning liberal” like Elizabeth Warren. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Speaking on MSNBC’s <i>Morning Joe</i>, Schultz said electing a Democrat instead of Trump would change nothing “because our politics and our government is broken.”</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The outcome of a presidential election is determined by “eight to ten battleground states” when it should be determined by all 50, he explained. </span><span class="s1">“What if…an Independent person could capture the imagination of the 42% of people who affiliate themselves as an Independent?” </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Republicans and Democrats don’t want to re-elect Trump and they don’t want a leftwing candidate like Elizabeth Warren, he continued. “But what if there’s a new person? What if for the first time in 40 years a 50 state &#8211; in which I’m on every ballot &#8211; really matters?”</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">When asked, Schultz said he did not want to abolish the electoral college. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“If we proceed, we will be on the ballot of every state,” he said. “We’ve done that work and we can get to 270 because all 50 states will matter, not 8-10.” </span></p>
<p class="p1"><strong><span class="s1">Why doesn’t he run as a Democrat? </span></strong></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Schultz says he no longer identifies as a Democrat and does not believe in the ideas the party stands for. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“I think the country needs transformation,” said Schultz. “The government needs to be disrupted. It’s not working…Show me one thing in which you can say &#8211; firmly &#8211; the government is really working.”</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Schultz disagrees with socialist policies like free college, free healthcare, and jobs for all and is most concerned about the national debt (for which he blames both parties). </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“I think this is a time in America for a complete re-imagination,&#8221; said Schultz. &#8220;What I’m going to try to do is go out to the American people and ignite a powerful movement… I’m hearing from thousands of American people &#8211; thousands! &#8211; saying, ‘Finally, someone’s voice that I can relate to that represents the fact that I no longer feel as if I am a Republican or a Democrat.’”</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Schultz repeatedly cited his “rags to riches” background when asked why he would be a great leader. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">In regards to healthcare, he is in favor of amending the <em>Affordable Care Act</em> rather than replacing it. He wants to see corporations do more for their employees and has vowed ‘not to play by Big Pharma’s rules. </span><span class="s1">He wants comprehensive tax reform and opposes Donald Trump’s tax breaks for corporations. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Above everything else, Schultz favors cooperation between parties and wants to fix our &#8220;broken&#8221; government. “I love America and I want to try and fix the problems and help the people who are being left behind,” he said. </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Schultz will announce his final decision on whether to run for president at the end of his book tour. </span></p>