Washington Post Op-ed: ‘Give the Elites a Bigger Say in Choosing the President’

The Washington Post is taking criticism for an op-ed published Tuesday by Marquette University political science professor Julia Azari, titled: “It’s time to give the elites a bigger say in choosing the president.”

Citing the “rocky start” to the Democratic Party’s presidential primary, Azari suggests that the process of choosing the nominee be taken from the people and returned to the politicians:

The current process is clearly flawed, but what would be better? … A better primary system would empower elites to bargain and make decisions, instructed by voters.

One lesson from the 2020 and 2016 election cycles is that a lot of candidates, many of whom are highly qualified and attract substantial followings, will inevitably enter the race. The system as it works now — with a long informal primary, lots of attention to early contests and sequential primary season that unfolds over several months — is great at testing candidates to see whether they have the skills to run for president. What it’s not great at is choosing among the many candidates who clear that bar, or bringing their different ideological factions together, or reconciling competing priorities. A process in which intermediate representatives — elected delegates who understand the priorities of their constituents — can bargain without being bound to specific candidates might actually produce nominees that better reflect what voters want.

Spanberger slams Trump on ‘affordability’ in SOTU response — as Virginia Democrats push new taxes

Trump awards Purple Hearts to National Guard members ambushed in Washington, DC: ‘We love you all’

WATCH: ‘These People Are Crazy!’ – Trump Unloads on Democrats During SOTU With a Never Before Seen Passion

BREAKING VIDEO: Chaos Breaks Out at SOTU After Trump Asks Everyone in Favor of Putting US Citizens Before Illegals to Rise

Democrats targeted over ‘illegal orders’ video attend Trump State of the Union

Alert: Schumer Gives Chilling 7 Seconds of Press Comments After Iran Briefing – Zero Attacks on Trump, Obvious Worry, Pure Seriousness

Dems Bring Illegal Aliens to State of the Union as Their Guests, Further Degrading the Safety of Trump, Everyone Present

Al Green returns to House chamber for Trump SOTU after dramatic 2025 ejection

Dems tap ICE detainees, suspected illegal immigrants as guests for Trump’s speech: DHS

NYPD releases photos of snowball-wielding suspects with facial hair after Mamdani claims attackers were ‘kids’

DHS backs off plans for new ICE facility in New Hampshire after local pushback, meeting with governor

Peter Mandelson denies ‘baseless’ claim of fleeing UK for British Virgin Islands

Schumer, Dems again block DHS funding, force State of the Union showdown

Pentagon gives AI firm ultimatum: lift military limits by Friday or lose $200M deal

No Democratic candidate secures party endorsement in California governor’s race

Azari suggests that the parties should use what she calls “preference primaries,” which would “allow voters to rank their choices among candidates, as well as to register opinions about their issue priorities.”

After a perfunctory voting process, wlites would be able to choose a nominee based on information about what the voters want.

She acknowledges that the idea is “labor-intensive and a little risky.”

The Post is owned by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, who is the world’s richest man. The paper’s slogan, adopted as an intended rebuke to President Donald Trump, is “Democracy dies in darkness.”

That phrase was trending on Twitter on Wednesday morning as readers reacted ironically to the op-ed.

The headline right below “democracy dies in darkness” is some A+ work

— Greg (@gwiss) February 19, 2020

>"Democracy dies in darkness"

>"Do people actually want more Democracy in their lives" pic.twitter.com/p7fPf5dFVX

— ｓａｌ🌹🏴🏴‍☠️ (@ProjektVayo) February 19, 2020