The move from the DNC to suppress the publication of its internal autopsy report on the last presidential race appears remarkable but not surprising. Resistant to unpleasant candor, the Democrats' governing body often functions more like a PR firm rather than an electoral entity devoted to cultivating a volunteer base for winning elections.
A Climate of Conformity
Reluctant to challenge the party establishment's culture of conformity, the committee has continued within the influence of the previous administration all through this past year. Making public an official autopsy might have shown that the leadership actually want to encourage honest conversation about the errors that enabled the former president to return to the White House. However, the leadership is moving forward as if there's nothing to glean following the electoral catastrophe from the last cycle.
"Here’s our North Star: does this help us win? If not, it becomes a sideline issue from what truly matters," a rationale which was presented for withholding the report.
Critical Problems an Autopsy Would Have Examined
An autopsy report worth its salt would tackle head-on key points of failure. Among them are:
- Electoral Alienation: Losing of a significant portion of the electorate that backed the Democratic ticket in 2020 proved pivotal in the narrowly decided recent race.
- A Insistence to Seek Re-election: The stubborn insistence by the incumbent to seek re-election, alongside a very late step-aside, is seen by some as robbing the party's base the chance for open primaries.
- Losing Touch With Core Democratic Voters: While facing rising costs, the electoral effort reportedly bowing to elite contributors without successfully attempting to challenge the impact of profit-seeking.
- The Gaza Effect: The failure to shift an approach concerning the situation in Gaza reportedly led to driving away many voters, especially among youth voters, Arab-Americans, Muslim voters.
- A Decline in Youth Support: Polling data indicates a major decline in Democratic support among voters aged 18-29.
A Pattern of Evasion
Choosing secrecy is consistent with a longstanding habit to avoid hard truths. It echoes an episode in which virtually every Democratic officeholder in Congress went along with a sitting president's insistence on seeking another term right up until a catastrophic public debate performance forced an exit.
At the same time, a significant majority of Democratic voters had been repeatedly informing surveyors of their opposition to the incumbent to seek re-election.
Financial Issues
A substantive analysis could probe questions about campaign spending, including what sums were directed to party strategists and media firms over the course of an electoral effort that burned through a staggering sum over a few months.
The Larger Issue
At its core, the blockage regarding the analysis is symptomatic of a submission to party leaders responsible for a disastrous presidential campaign. The message for ordinary supporters – including millions of small donors – appears to be that they do not have a right to know what the leadership claim to have learned based on an analysis compiled from extensive interviews.
A political entity unable to critically review where it went wrong is unlikely to climb out of the pattern that ended up being so advantageous to their opponents.
