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.

Todd Blanche vows Supreme Court appeal after court blocks third-country deportations

Reform slips behind Labour and Conservatives in latest voter poll thanks to ‘Burnham bounce’

Xi announces new pandas coming to Atlanta in coming days

‘So Look…’: El-Sayed Answers Whether a ‘Jewish Zionist’ Has a Place in the New Democratic Party

Bombshell: CNN’s Entire Newsroom May End up Working for Elon Musk as Paramount-WB Merger Steamrolls Lefties

Biden-appointed judge hands Letitia James setback in latest Trump legal clash

Florida deputies taser sword-wielding burglary suspect, video shows

Top public university’s ‘LGBTQ+ lab’ hit with race-bias complaint amid $700K in Trump-era federal funding

Texas triple murderer uses last words before execution to send message to death row inmates

Ken Paxton Shuts Down Alleged Chinese ‘Birth Tourism Center’ Ahead of Race Against Talarico

Trump-Xi summit could hold key to lower gas prices, GOP chairman says

Italy Scrambles Warships Toward Red Sea as Houthis Close in on Global Shipping Chokepoint

Federal appeals court deals blow to Trump deportation agenda

MN Dem Sen candidate in hot seat over upcoming event hosted by man enveloped in fraud scandal: ‘Red flags’

Thune’s midterm crossroads: Keep the Senate working or let candidates campaign

See also Barry Melrose, 1956-2026

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