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.

Bear caught on camera perched atop New Mexico utility pole before reportedly suffering fatal electrocution

Teachers who once dated and share child arrested after classroom argument spiraled into violence: police

Jack Smith hit with criminal referral as GOP moves testimony fight toward prosecution

Trump salutes ‘great heroes’ as he attends dignified transfer of US service members killed in Jordan, Iraq

Survivor of Hamas terror attack in Israel slams Mamdani over ‘dangerous’ video about Netanyahu

Far-left ‘Squad’ Dems mix up Jewish colleagues in botched attack — then get burned by their own votes

Ethiopian Immigrant Arrested After Execution of 3 Rental Workers – Felt He Was Being Discriminated Against

Judge questions whether Hegseth’s testosterone plan undermines transgender troops ban

Newsom turns to Hunter Biden’s high-powered ex-lawyer as federal scrutiny closes in on his family, allies

Fox News Star Crushes Lindsey Graham’s Sister, Other Contenders in South Carolina Senate Poll

Trump gives emotional tribute to fallen Army Lt Tyler Feehan after flying grieving family on Air Force One

Musk Pledges $100 Million to ‘Historically Accurate’ Version of ‘The Odyssey’ with Mel Gibson as Director

Chaos erupts as House passes $1.15T defense bill with Israel provision: ‘Stop stoking Jew hatred’

AOC surges past Buttigieg, leaves Harris in the dust in key 2028 battleground poll

Mamdani Gets a Reality Check from His Lawyers After Vow to Arrest Netanyahu

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