This decision from the Democratic National Committee to suppress the public viewing regarding its internal post-election analysis concerning the last presidential race seems shocking yet entirely predictable. Opposed to unpleasant candor, the Democrats' governing body often functions closer to a publicity machine rather than a political organization focused on building local power for winning elections.
An Environment of Conformity
Reluctant to depart from the party establishment's culture demanding unity, the committee has continued within the Biden-Harris shadow throughout this past year. Releasing such a report could have demonstrated whether party leaders actually want to encourage honest conversation regarding the errors which allowed Donald Trump to win re-election. However, the DNC is proceeding as if there is little to glean following the stunning loss from the last cycle.
"Here’s our North Star: will this lead to victory? If not, it is an unnecessary diversion from our fundamental goal," an explanation that has been offered to justify concealing the document.
Major Failures a Report Might Have Examined
An autopsy report worth its salt would confront key points of failure. This encompasses:
- Electoral Disengagement: Losing among a significant portion of the electorate that backed the party's candidate during the previous election was decisive in the close recent race.
- A Decision to Run: The stubborn insistence of a party leader to run again, coupled with a very late exit, is seen by some as denying Democratic voters the chance for open primaries.
- Abandoning the Working-Class Base: While facing economic anxiety, the electoral effort reportedly bowing to powerful financial backers and not managing to challenge the impact of profit-seeking.
- A Foreign Policy Effect: The failure to adjust a policy position on a ongoing war is cited as driving away key demographic groups, particularly with youth voters, Arab American communities, and Muslim Americans.
- A Decline in Youth Support: Extensive evidence shows a huge decrease of support for the party among young voters.
A Record Avoiding Accountability
Choosing secrecy is consistent with a longstanding habit of evading hard truths. It echoes an episode in which virtually every Democratic officeholder in Washington supported a sitting president's insistence on running for re-election until a disastrous televised debate forced a reversal.
Concurrently, large majorities within the party's base had been repeatedly informing surveyors that they opposed that candidate to be the nominee.
Financial Questions
An honest autopsy could investigate questions regarding financial allocations, including what sums flowed to party strategists and media firms during a campaign that managed to spend an enormous amount during the general election.
The Underlying Implication
At its core, the suppression of the official autopsy is symptomatic of a deference to party leaders responsible for an unsuccessful presidential campaign. The signal to ordinary supporters – which includes countless loyal volunteers – appears to be that they cannot be trusted to know what the leadership claim to have learned based on a report drawing from extensive interviews.
An organization incapable to critically review its own failings will struggle to climb out of the rut that ended up being so beneficial to their opponents.
