2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Who should pick presidents? Party leadership or the people? [View all]BlueCheese
(2,522 posts)After all, the people do choose the president in the general election.
The major parties in the US are rare in that for the most part, they allow their rank and file to choose their nominees at the national level. My sense is that in many other countries, parties choose their leaders in closed-door sessions. In fact, in the US, it's not just the rank and file, but their self-identified rank and file. You don't have to pay anything, such as party membership dues, to have a voice.
Having said that, no, it's not entirely democratic. The party leaders (members of the DNC, elected officials) have outsized influence. Some states have ridiculous caucus systems that limit turnout. Early states have way more impact than later ones-- Iowa and New Hampshire are more important than California and Texas. And yes, party leadership can make rules that help one candidate or another.