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.

Newly Uncovered Docs Blow Up Jack Smith’s Story About How His Investigation Into Trump Began

Breaking: Jack Smith Admits to Secretly Gathering Banking Info of Thousands of Trump Donors

Office of Personnel Management uncovers $500M in fraud and waste in federal health benefits programs

Soros nephew divulges how family’s power helped bankroll El-Sayed’s education during secretive fundraiser

Rivals skeptical as Netanyahu warns of ‘attack’ against Israel before Oct. 27 election

‘Instead of Enforcing the Law’: Dem Connecticut Faces 2A Court Fight with Major Gun Maker for Banning Popular Pistol

Hawks or Hawkeyes? Eric Schmitt’s Jack Smith grilling runs into basketball mix-up

Trans NYT Games executive killed after accusing in-laws of years of abuse amid bitter custody battle

Hollywood actress upset her son isn’t gay fumes in bizarre spectacle at Human Rights Campaign gala

Fed Up With Abuse, Holdout Clancy Juror Will Carry Out Aggressive Plan to Shut Up Killer’s Attorney

Republicans fear they ‘haven’t done a damn thing’ to lower prices ahead of midterm reckoning

FBI strikes back at hacking group with overseas arrest of alleged leader

Trump Administration Extradites Alleged Major Narco-Terrorist ‘The Spider’ to US to Face Charges

Jack Smith deputy advocated ‘repealing’ congressional protections prior to Jan. 6

AOC’s Trip Out of NYC Seen as a Hint at Her Aspirations for 2028

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