[Jan. 30, 2019 ...1:22]

Senator Elizabeth Warren said some pretty sharp words about me.  She referred to me as a billionaire out of touch with the American people.

I grew up in Brooklyn, New York in Canarsie in federally subsidized housing, the projects.  When I was seven years old my father, who was a laborer, came home and has a serious accident.  He was dismissed from his job; we lost our health insurance.  I witnessed the fracturing of the American Dream.

I started with nothing and I made it in America because of the aspiration, the magnetism, and the spirit of our country.  I've always believed in the promise of the country.

What is the promise of the country?  Well what it is is regardless of your station in life, the color of your skin, your gender, your sexual orientation, whatever it might be, that everyone should have a chance in America.  What we need right now in America is for the country to come together and for the Democrats and Republicans who have been unwilling to work together to finally realize that the America people deserve much more than political slogans and tweets.

 What we need is a government that can work for us for leadership that we can trust.  And if I run for president what I'm going to try and do is restore the faith in the promise of the country and the American Dream.

https://www.facebook.com/howardschultz/videos/680591669024337/



An Independent Campaign by Howard Schultz?

(EMA updated Feb. 13, 2019) Howard Schultz, a self-described lifelong Democrat, had been mentioned as a possible presidentilal candidate since he stepped down from his position as executive chairman of Starbucks in June 2018.  Schultz' appearance on the Jan. 27, 2019 CBS News' "60 Minutes" crystallized matters.  "I am seriously thinking of running for president," Schultz stated.  "I will run as a centrist independent outside of the two-party system."  On Jan. 28 news organizations reported that former Obama aide Bill Burton had joined Schultz's team, which also included longtime Republican operative Steve Schmidt.  On Jan. 28 Schultz kicked off his tour for his book From the Ground Up.  The prospect of an independent campaign by Schultz made Democrats nervous as they believed his candidacy would serve to re-elect Trump.  Many prominent Democrats spoke out forcefully against a possible Schultz bid. 



From the Ground Up Book Tour

Howard Schultz.  FROM THE GROUND UP: A Journey to Reimagine the Promise of AmericaRandom House, Jan. 28, 2019

New York, NY
MON, JAN 28TH - 7:00 PM EST Moderated by CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin at the Union Square Barnes and Noble

Phoenix, AZ
WED, JAN 30TH - Moderated by ASU president Michael Crow at Arizona State University >

Seattle, WA
THU, JAN 31ST - 7:30 PM PST at Moore Theatre

San Francisco, CA
Fri. FEB 1st - Moderator Roy Eisenhardt at t the Jewish Community Center

Chicago, IL
MON, FEB 4TH - 7:00 PM CST Moderated by Mellody HobsonChicago Ideas at Venue610

Boston, MA
TUE, FEB 5TH - 6:00 PM EST Moderated by James Fallows at Brattle Theatre

Philadelphia, PA
WED, FEB 13TH - 7:00 PM EST Moderated by Bill Kristol at Philadelphia Free Library

Washington, DC
THU, FEB 14TH - 7:00 PM EST Moderated by Doris Kearns Goodwin at Sixth & I

San Francisco, CA
TUE, FEB 19TH - 6:30 PM PST at the Commonwealth Club

Los Angeles, CA
THU, FEB 21ST - 8:00 PM PST Moderator by Maria Shriver at Moss Theater in Santa Monica

Cleveland, OH
WED, FEB 27TH - 7:00 PM EST at The Cuyahoga Library

Atlanta, GA
MON, MAR 11TH - 7:00 PM EST at The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum


Mike Bloomberg
January 28, 2019

Mike Bloomberg Statement on Independent Runs

Last fall I spent over $100 million of my own money to elect Democrats to the House because I believed it was absolutely imperative to ensure a congressional counterweight to President Trump.
Thankfully, we were successful. But that was just the first step — the next and most important step is to defeat Donald Trump in 2020.

Now I have never been a partisan guy — and it’s no secret that I looked at an independent bid in the past. In fact I faced exactly the same decision now facing others who are considering it.
The data was very clear and very consistent. Given the strong pull of partisanship and the realities of the electoral college system, there is no way an independent can win. That is truer today than ever before.

In 2020, the great likelihood is that an independent would just split the anti-Trump vote and end up re-electing the President. That's a risk I refused to run in 2016 and we can't afford to run it now.
We must remain united, and we must not allow any candidate to divide or fracture us. The stakes couldn’t be higher.


American Bridge 21st Century
February 13, 2019

"Please Clappuccino" vanity project staggers on after painful CNN town hall

Last week, Howard Schultz gave a "major policy announcement" speech in Indiana that contained no major announcements, unless you count his groundbreaking observation, "The truth is that healthcare costs are the biggest driver of unaffordable care." 
 
However, Schultz did manage to tell the audience, "you've got to clap for that," after an applause line fell flat (so keep an eye out for campaign -- sorry, "book tour" -- signs that say "Howard!").
 
But on Tuesday night, Schultz pulled off an electrifying and not in any sense underwhelming reboot in a CNN town hall during which he:
  • Exposed yet again that he has no discernable vision or policy agenda.
  • Said, "My business experience is not qualification to run for president." (Okay, then why are you here???)
  • Refused to tell the crowd whether he would sell all of his Starbucks stock if he became president - while at the same time promising he would somehow not have massive conflicts of interests and insisting (loudly) that he wasn't "evading the question."
  • Responded to a question about cracking down on racial profiling by saying that he doesn't "see color," which one reporter pointed out used to be "a Colbert Report bit."
  • Dodged about whether he would release his tax returns within a week after having it pointed out that in a previous interview he had volunteered to release them "today."
  • Even after being pressed, failed to disclose how much he believes the wealthy should be taxed.
  • Decided it was a good idea to say that he was "wrapping himself in an American flag."
"The sooner 'Please Cappuccino' wraps up this torturous vanity project, the better for our country," said American Bridge spokesperson Andrew Bates. "All Howard Schultz would accomplish by running for president is throwing the election to Donald Trump, and the longer this trainwreck continues, the more scrutiny he will be under - and that is clearly not something he's ready for."
 
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