Why the strong reaction to Howard Schultz threatening to run a third-party campaign for president? Political pundits are already framing the reaction as Democrats are fearful of a “centrist” Democrat challenging the left-wing Democratic candidate who seems destined for nomination. Oh no! According to the pundits, maybe Democrats should think twice about being so radically left-wing in their political stances if they are so afraid. Just look at their hysterical reactions to Schultz.
Wrong. Reactions are heated because Democrats are fed up with the ridiculous notion that Howard Schultz is a “centrist Democrat” who deserves to be heard and taken seriously. Look at how the MSM has featured him, providing free, over-the-top coverage and publicity (in conjucntion with his new book drop no less). Reactions are heated because Howard Schultz deserves absolutely no respect as a candidate, not to mention as a person, and he certainly should not be identified as a fricking “centrist Democrat”! And yet, because he is a rich white man, he is automatically taken seriously and given that respect. Reactions are heated because we are getting sick of this shit.
Howard Schultz is no Democrat, and he’s definitely not center of anything except for centrally located in the rich white male party, the party of wealthy paranoid white men fearful of losing one little bit of their precious mountains of money and capital assets, but even more fearful, perhaps, of losing their grip on the status and privilege bestowed upon rich white men in this country. Men like Schultz in the rich white man’s party have no interest in healing the divisions in this country; they just want to maintain the status quo.
So where, exactly, is the “right wing” when the alleged conservative party believes that government is the problem and should be eliminated, that it’s OK to take children away from parents seeking asylum in this country and keep them in jail indefinitely, that abortion should be outlawed and punishments for terminating pregnancy for any reason should be severe, that homosexuality is a crime, that Christianity should be the one religion allowed in this country and the Bible should be considered the law, that encourages gun ownership without any regulations, that refuses to recognize the findings of scientists, that embraces as its champion sent by God a man devoid of moral character, someone who brags about sexual assault, who constantly lies, and who seems to delight in making others suffer? Those “conservatives” who supposedly are the “right wing” are so far right they are off the scale and into angry, paranoid la la land.
And so where is the so-called “left wing” on a scale where there is no longer any identifiable right wing? Answer: everywhere on the scale. The Democratic party represents all the people of this country, all of its diversity of race, religion, language, sexuality, and thought. The “left” is actually the inclusive, welcoming, tolerant center encompassing all of the people. It is truly one big mob. The incoming Democratic congresswomen and men represent the new political reality of the American center, which is everywhere and embraced by everyone, except for those off the scale to the right and those wealthy white men who actually belong nowhere now. Their time is up. They can feel it.