Political news coverage tends to focus on the “horse race,” the public, competitive face of our elections, without examining how gatekeepers shape our elections. Occasionally, due to an over-reach or a rare visible move, the gatekeepers become unveiled, providing a view into their role.
Reflective Democracy Campaign director Brenda Carter seized on such a moment to explain who gatekeepers are, how they operate, and how they impede reflective democracy.
From the Op-Ed:
[T]he data are clear, and so are the facts. Though we like to imagine elections as a level playing field, the odds are stacked against change…. The party gatekeepers who choose candidates tend to buy the myth that white men are more electable, and the media give more positive coverage to male candidates than to women. All in all, women of all races and men of color face an uphill battle, and often must challenge an incumbent white man in a primary fight.
