This action by the DNC to block the release regarding its internal autopsy report concerning the last presidential race seems remarkable but not surprising. Opposed to frank assessments, the Democrats' governing body behaves more like a PR firm than an electoral entity devoted to building local power capable of prevailing at the polls.
A Culture Resistant to Internal Critique
Hesitant to challenge the prevailing attitude demanding unity, the DNC has stayed within the Biden-Harris shadow all through this past year. Making public such a report might have shown that the leadership are interested to encourage honest conversation regarding the missteps which allowed Donald Trump to become president again. However, the leadership is moving forward under the pretense that there are no lessons to glean following the electoral catastrophe from the last cycle.
The top priority: does this help us win? Should the answer be negative, it’s a distraction from what truly matters," an explanation that has been offered to justify concealing the document.
Key Issues an Autopsy Might Have Addressed
An autopsy report worth its salt would not dodge key points of failure. This encompasses:
- Electoral Disengagement: Losing among millions of voters who supported the Democratic ticket during the previous election was decisive in the close recent race.
- A Insistence to Seek Re-election: The unwavering decision of a party leader to stay in the race, coupled with an extremely delayed withdrawal, is seen by some as robbing the party's base the chance for a genuine choice.
- Failing Everyday Americans: During a time of rising costs, the campaign is criticized for bowing to powerful financial backers while failing to confront the impact of big business.
- A Foreign Policy Factor: The refusal to adjust a policy position on a major international conflict reportedly led to losing significant blocs, especially with youth voters, Arab-Americans, Muslim voters.
- Losing Young Voter Support: Research indicates a significant decline of votes for the candidate among voters aged 18-29.
A History of Evasion
This refusal is consistent with a recurring tendency of sidestepping uncomfortable facts. This mirrors an episode where the vast majority of elected Democrat in Washington acquiesced to a sitting president's decision for running for re-election until a disastrous televised debate led to an exit.
At the same time, large majorities of Democratic voters were repeatedly informing surveyors that they did not want that candidate to be the nominee.
Campaign Spending Questions
An honest analysis could probe issues regarding financial allocations, such as how much money flowed to high-priced advisors and ad buyers over the course of an electoral effort that burned through a staggering sum over a few months.
A Broader Problem
At its core, the suppression of the official autopsy is symptomatic of a deference toward the existing power structure who engineered an unsuccessful national race. The message for ordinary supporters – which includes millions of small donors – is that they do not be trusted to understand the lessons the leadership claim to have learned from a report compiled from extensive interviews.
A party unwilling to publicly examine where it went wrong is unlikely to climb out of the cycle that ended up being so advantageous to the rival party.
