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.

DOJ Signals Probe Into Brutal Assault of Conservative Journalist Filming Anti-ICE Riot

Far-left Senate hopeful’s radical ties to ‘Maduro cronies’ could torpedo campaign: ‘Tired of the chaos’

Push to oust Trump exposes cracks among Democrats on strategy, timing

George Conway Chokes Back Tears Talking About Blowing Nearly $1M on Joe Biden

Mike Johnson raises $500,000 to fight Spanberger’s gerrymandering push in Virginia

State by state: Here’s where ICE has made the most arrests under Trump

Ranking the 2028 Democratic hopefuls at Al Sharpton’s National Action Network

‘Smart decision’: Swalwell’s resignation spurs praise from both parties after bombshell allegations emerge

US military kills 2 suspected cartel operatives in latest Eastern Pacific lethal strike, SOUTHCOM says

Swalwell’s ‘best friend’ in Congress turns on him after bombshell allegations torpedo his political career

Hegseth-affiliated pastor Doug Wilson says Trump ‘has to do better’ after AI Jesus debacle

Protests erupt in Ireland over high fuel costs caused by war in Iran

BREAKING: Second Member of Congress Announces He Will Resign, Papers to Be Filed Tuesday

DoorDash driver hails key Trump policy after delivering McDonald’s to White House: ‘I’m going to enjoy it’

Gabbard claims ‘coordinated effort’ by intelligence community to advance narrative to impeach Trump

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