The move from the DNC to block the release regarding its own autopsy report on the last presidential race appears shocking but entirely predictable. Opposed to unpleasant candor, the DNC behaves closer to a publicity machine than a political organization committed to cultivating a volunteer base to secure victories.
An Environment of Conformity
Hesitant to break with the prevailing attitude demanding unity, the DNC has continued under the Biden-Harris shadow throughout this past year. Publishing an official autopsy might have shown that party leaders are interested to encourage open debate about the errors that paved the way for the former president to return to the White House. Instead, the committee is acting as if there's nothing to glean from the stunning loss from the last cycle.
"Here’s our North Star: does this help us win? If the answer is no, it’s a distraction from what truly matters," a justification that has been offered for withholding the document.
Major Failures an Analysis Might Have Explored
A genuine analysis of substance would confront certain uncomfortable matters. These include:
- Electoral Disengagement: The loss of a significant portion of the electorate who voted for the Democratic ticket in 2020 proved pivotal during the tight recent race.
- A Decision to Run: The stubborn insistence of a party leader to seek re-election, and a last-minute step-aside, is viewed as denying Democratic voters the chance for open primaries.
- Abandoning Everyday Americans: Amid economic anxiety, the electoral effort allegedly ceding to elite contributors while failing to challenge the role of corporate greed.
- The Foreign Policy Factor: An unwillingness to reconsider an approach regarding a ongoing war allegedly caused losing key demographic groups, notably with youth voters, Arab-Americans, Muslim voters.
- Losing Youth Allegiance: Research demonstrates a significant decrease in Democratic support among the youth electorate.
A Pattern Avoiding Accountability
The decision to withhold is consistent with a pattern of evading difficult realities. It echoes a dynamic where nearly all elected Democrat in Washington acquiesced to an incumbent's insistence on running for re-election until a poor public debate performance forced an exit.
Concurrently, overwhelming numbers of Democratic voters were repeatedly informing researchers of their opposition to that candidate to seek re-election.
Financial Concerns
An honest report would also investigate questions regarding financial allocations, including how much money were directed to party strategists and advertising contractors over the course of an electoral effort that burned through a colossal war chest during the general election.
The Broader Implication
Fundamentally, the secrecy surrounding this report highlights a submission to the established hierarchy that oversaw a disastrous national race. The implication to ordinary supporters – which includes countless loyal volunteers – appears to be that they do not have a right to see what party chiefs have learned based on hundreds of interviews compiled from feedback from all states.
A party incapable to critically review its own failings will struggle to climb out of the cycle that ended up being so advantageous to the winning candidate.
