Starbuck Schultz Presidential bid gets ground up: Darcy cartoon

Starbucks' CEO Howard Schultz potential independent presidential bid has been derided, while Sen. Kamala Harris is drawing large audiences since announcing her candidacy.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- While Senator Kamala Harris is drawing record audiences upon announcing her presidential bid, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz's potential independent run is going down like a bad cup of Trumpachino.

"Don't help elect Trump, you egotistical billionaire (expletive)!  Go back to getting ratioed on Twitter.  Go back to Davos with the other billionaire elite who think they know how to run the world," shouted a heckler at the Manhattan Barnes and Noble, where Schultz stopped to promote his book "From the Ground Up."

In less coarse language, Michael Bloomberg, agreed his fellow billionaire's independent bid would only help get Trump elected, not Schultz.

"I have seen enough data over many years to know that anyone running for POTUS as an independent will split the anti-incumbent, anti-Trump vote.   The stakes could be higher. We can not afford the risk of spoiler politics that result in Trump's re-election."

The heckler's and Bloomberg's comments pretty much sum up the Democrat response to Schultz's announcement on "60 Minutes" that he was considering running as an independent.

A self-described lifelong Democrat and "centrist independent," Schultz said he would run as an independent because of the "toxicity and lack of compromise of both parties."

"Those two extremes [on the] far left and far right do not represent the silent majority of Americans," said Schultz.

Schultz takes on Warren, not Trump

In interviews, Schultz has been more focused on criticizing the Democratic Party  than Republican.  He has particularly focused critically on plans to tax billionaires like himself.

Schultz told CNBC he won't talk in the hypothetical about what he would do as president, but spends a lot of time talking against hypothetical surtaxes on billionaires.

"If you kind of look at the tea leaves today, it appears that the Democratic Party is shifting far, far left with very strong, progressive ideas," said Schultz.  

Schultz believes Trump would beat a far-left progressive Democrat nominee.  "If he runs against a far-left, progressive person, who is suggesting 60 percent, 70 percent tax increases on the rich and a health care system we can't pay for, President Trump is going to get re-elected."

Elizabeth Warren's plan to tax the super-rich was dismissed by Schultz as a "ridiculous" plan intended to grab headlines.   "When I see Elizabeth Warren come out with a ridiculous plan of taxing wealthy people with a surtax of 2 percent because it makes a good headline or sends out a tweet, when she knows for a fact that's not something that's ever gonna be passed- this is what's wrong."

Warren shot back in a tweet:

"What's "ridiculous" is billionaires who think they can buy the presidency to keep the system rigged for themselves while opportunity slips away for everyone else.  The top 0.1% who'd pay my #UltraMillionaireTax, own about the same wealth as 90% of America. It's time for a change."

Warren added in an interview, "We have a billionaire who says he wants to jump into the race and the first issue he's raised is not new taxes on billionaires?  Let's see how that goes."

It's not going well for Schultz, and won't.   The only one clamoring for Schultz to run appears to be fellow billionaire businessman Donald Trump.

Trump endorses Schultz bid

New York Times' reporter Maggie Haberman tweeted: "Trump told the crowd at the Trump Hotel [Monday Night] fundraiser that he was trying to get Howard Schultz into the race with his tweet earlier today because he thinks he'll help him, per attendee."

This was Trump's tweet:

"Howard Schultz doesn't have the "guts" to run for President!  Watched him on @60Minutes last night and I agree with him that he is not the "smartest person." Besides, American already has that!  I only hope that Starbucks is still paying me their rent in Trump Tower!

I agree with Schultz that a far-left progressive is unlikely to beat Trump, as it stands now.  But Schultz is ignoring that fact that the Democrat who has been polling the best against Democrat contenders and Trump is former Vice President Joe Biden, who is not a far-left progressive.   Neither is Kamala Harris who has won the early buzz primary.

Kamala Harris wins Early Buzz Primary.

Sen Harris drew a huge crowd in announcing her candidacy, then followed it up by setting a CNN Town Hall ratings record.

An estimated 20,000 people showed up in Oakland,California to hear Harris announce her candidacy for President.  She outdrew Barack Obama's campaign launch in Springfield, Illinois.   While the weather was bad in Springfield, Harris also outdrew Obama when he later spoke in the same Oakland venue she did.

Harris's CNN Town Hall drew 2 million viewers.   That was 75% higher than CNN's average in the 10pm hour and set a CNN record for a single-candidate town hall.

Right now, the strongest cup of coffee for Democrats to take on Trump would be Biden paired with Harris or someone like her.