Howard Schultz of Starbucks fame told “60 Minutes” on Sunday that he was “seriously thinking” about an independent bid for the presidency, and boy oh boy are liberals and progressives unhappy with the idea. The lifelong Democrat has suddenly morphed, in the eyes of his new detractors, into a vainglorious upstart, entitled rich guy, and potential spoiler who could hand the election to Donald Trump.

Could be. But the neuralgic reaction to his bid says something about the ideological drift of the Democratic Party — and of its vulnerabilities against a historically weak president.

So what has Schultz done to deserve his Two Minutes Hate? His political views bear about as much resemblance to those of a typical conservative as an olive does to a grape. He supports Obamacare, denounced the Trump administration’s decision to leave the Paris Climate Accord, and promised to hire 10,000 refugees globally in response to the 2017 travel ban. He was raised in a Brooklyn housing project and was the first person in his family to go to college. His billions were fairly earned offering products and services people want.

Schultz’s politics are to the left of mine, but I would vote for someone like him in a heartbeat if the other names on the ballot are Trump and, say, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. Isn’t candidate diversity supposed to be something liberals believe in?