This move by the Democratic National Committee to block the public viewing of its internal post-election analysis on the last presidential race is stunning yet not surprising. Resistant to frank assessments, the party's leadership apparatus behaves more like a PR firm rather than an electoral entity focused on building a volunteer base to secure victories.
An Environment That Avoids Dissent
Reluctant to break with the party establishment's culture of conformity, the committee has remained within the Biden-Harris shadow throughout this past year. Releasing such a report would have indicated whether party leaders are interested to promote public discourse about the missteps which allowed Donald Trump to return to the White House. Instead, the DNC is proceeding under the pretense that there is little to glean from the tragic debacle from the last cycle.
Our guiding principle: does this help us win? Should the answer be negative, it is an unnecessary diversion from the core mission," a justification that has been offered to justify concealing the document.
Key Issues an Analysis Could Have Addressed
An autopsy report with any value would tackle head-on key points of failure. These include:
- Voter Alienation: Losing of a significant portion of the electorate that backed the Democratic ticket in 2020 became a critical factor in the close recent race.
- The Choice to Seek Re-election: The determined insistence of a party leader to seek re-election, coupled with a very late exit, is seen by some as denying the party's base the chance for a genuine choice.
- Failing Core Democratic Voters: While facing economic anxiety, the campaign is criticized for bowing to elite contributors without successfully attempting to challenge the role of big business.
- A Gaza Factor: The failure to adjust a stance on the situation in Gaza reportedly led to losing significant blocs, especially with young people, Arab American communities, and Muslim Americans.
- Losing Youth Support: Research demonstrates a significant decrease of Democratic support from the youth electorate.
A Pattern Shunning Scrutiny
Choosing secrecy is consistent with a pattern to avoid uncomfortable facts. This mirrors an episode in which virtually every elected Democrat in Congress went along with a sitting president's insistence on seeking another term right up until a disastrous campaign event led to a change.
Meanwhile, overwhelming numbers of Democratic voters were continually telling pollsters that they did not want the incumbent to seek re-election.
Campaign Spending Concerns
An honest autopsy would also investigate issues about financial allocations, such as the amounts went to high-priced advisors and media firms over the course of a campaign which expended a staggering amount during the general election.
A Underlying Issue
Fundamentally, the blockage of the official autopsy highlights a submission toward the established hierarchy responsible for a losing presidential campaign. The message for rank-and-file members – including millions of small donors – appears to be that they do not have a right to know what the leadership say they discovered from hundreds of interviews drawing from feedback from all states.
A party incapable to honestly assess where it went wrong is unlikely to escape the cycle which was so beneficial to the rival party.
