The universe may be shopping for new masters. (photo: BuzzFeed/Getty Images)
By Charles Pierce, Esquire
Wall Street wants a "centrist." Does anyone else?
ou have to hand it to Politico. Howard Schultz's vanity exercise is still theoretical, but Politico has
tracked down every single member of his fundamental constituency who
cannot be found in Howard Schultz's mirror every morning while he's
shaving.Early support from deep-pocketed financial executives could give Democrats seeking to break out of the pack an important fundraising boost. But any association with bankers also opens presidential hopefuls to sharp attacks from an ascendant left. And it’s left senior executives on Wall Street flailing over what to do.
“I’m a socially liberal, fiscally conservative centrist who would love to vote for a rational Democrat and get Trump out of the White House,” said the CEO of one of the nation’s largest banks, who, like a dozen other executives interviewed for this story, declined to be identified by name for fear of angering a volatile president. “Personally, I’d love to see Bloomberg run and get the nomination. I’ve just never thought he could get the nomination the way the primary process works.”
Oh, dear. What's a master of the universe to do when the universe turns against him?
After mentioning Bloomberg, Wall Street executives who want Trump out list a consistent roster of appealing nominees that includes former Vice President Joe Biden and Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Kamala Harris of California. Others meriting mention: former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, former Maryland Rep. John Delaney and former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, though few [re]ally know his positions.
Bankers’ biggest fear: The nomination goes to an anti-Wall Street crusader like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) or Sanders. “It can’t be Warren and it can’t be Sanders,” said the CEO of another giant bank. “It has to be someone centrist and someone who can win.”
Clearly, they're not afraid that Senator Professor
Warren or Bernie Sanders "can't win," but, rather, they're struck into
incoherence that one of them can. Somewhere in the gated community
holding their souls, they know that there still is a considerable
reckoning out there for what they did throughout the Aughts, and that
scares them to death. And now, there are popular vehicles through which
that reckoning can be wrought. The universe may be shopping for new
masters.
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