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.

Clintons agree to testify after House threatens contempt in Jeffrey Epstein probe

LAPD Chief Refuses to Enforce Gavin Newsom’s Crackdown on ICE Agents: ‘It Doesn’t Make Any Sense’

House GOP majority shrinks to just one vote as Johnson swears in new House Democrat

Trump and India PM Modi Reach Historic Trade Agreement, Includes Ending Importation of Russian Oil

Grammys blasted as ‘anti-China political tool’ after Dalai Lama wins audiobook award

House Democrat Appears Hundreds of Times in New Epstein Documents

Trump raises ‘nationalized voting’ idea in Bongino’s return podcast debut

FLASHBACK VIDEO: The Barack Obama Video That Anti-ICE Dems Want Buried Forever and That Trump Should Run on TV 24/7

Matt Mahan sets himself apart from crowded California field by criticizing Newsom

Trump ‘ask us’ doctrine explained as protests rage in far left states

White House fires back at critics calling Trump’s massive arch ‘too big’

Judge dismisses DOJ judicial misconduct complaint against James Boasberg

Schumer nukes GOP push for ‘Jim Crow-era’ voter ID laws in Trump-backed shutdown package

Celebrities Try to Lecture Americans with Flood of Anti-ICE Virtue Signalling at Grammys

Turning Point USA launches rival halftime show with star-studded lineup as NFL faces Super Bowl backlash

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