This decision by the DNC to withhold the publication of its own autopsy report concerning the last presidential race seems stunning but entirely predictable. Averse to unpleasant candor, the Democrats' governing body behaves closer to a PR firm rather than a political organization focused on building local power to secure victories.
An Environment of Conformity
Hesitant to depart from the party establishment's culture demanding unity, the DNC has stayed under the Biden-Harris shadow all through this past year. Making public such a report would have indicated that party leaders actually want to foster honest conversation about the strategic failures which allowed the former president to return to the White House. However, the DNC is proceeding as if there is little to understand from the stunning loss from the last cycle.
The top priority: is this good for winning elections? Should the answer be negative, it’s a distraction from our fundamental goal," an explanation which was presented to justify concealing the analysis.
Key Issues a Report Might Have Explored
An autopsy report with any value would confront a series of difficult topics. Among them are:
- Electoral Disengagement: Failing to retain among a significant portion of the electorate who supported the party's candidate in 2020 proved pivotal in the narrowly decided recent race.
- The Choice to Seek Re-election: The determined insistence of the incumbent to run again, alongside an extremely delayed exit, has been criticized as denying the party's base of a genuine choice.
- Failing Core Democratic Voters: During a time of rising costs, the electoral effort allegedly bowing to powerful financial backers while failing to address the impact of big business.
- A Gaza Factor: An unwillingness to reconsider an approach concerning a ongoing war is cited as driving away many voters, particularly among young people, Arab-Americans, Muslim voters.
- Eroding Young Voter Support: Extensive evidence indicates a huge decline of Democratic support among the youth electorate.
A Record of Evasion
This refusal aligns with a pattern of sidestepping uncomfortable facts. This mirrors a dynamic where virtually every Democratic officeholder in Washington supported an incumbent's insistence on seeking another term until a poor campaign event led to a change.
At the same time, overwhelming numbers of Democratic voters were continually telling pollsters that they opposed the incumbent to run again.
Financial Issues
A thorough analysis might also examine matters about campaign spending, such as what sums were directed to insider consultants and advertising contractors over the course of a campaign that burned through a colossal war chest during the general election.
A Larger Problem
At its core, the secrecy regarding the analysis is symptomatic of a deference toward party leaders responsible for a disastrous national race. The signal for rank-and-file members – which includes countless small donors – appears to be that they do not have a right to see what party chiefs have learned from a report based on conversations with insiders.
A political entity incapable to honestly assess its own failings will struggle to climb out of the rut which was so beneficial to their opponents.
