This action from the DNC to withhold the release of its internal autopsy report on the last presidential race is remarkable however entirely predictable. Resistant to hard truths, the party's leadership apparatus operates more like a publicity machine than a political organization focused on building grassroots capacities to secure victories.
A Culture That Avoids Dissent
Hesitant to break with the prevailing attitude of conformity, the committee has remained within that legacy throughout this past year. Publishing an official autopsy would have indicated that party leaders are interested to encourage open debate about the strategic failures which allowed the former president to return to the White House. However, the DNC is proceeding under the pretense that there are no lessons to be learned following the electoral catastrophe from the last cycle.
The top priority: will this lead to victory? Should the answer be negative, it is an unnecessary diversion from our fundamental goal," a justification which was presented for withholding the analysis.
Key Issues a Report Would Have Examined
A genuine analysis of substance would confront certain uncomfortable matters. Among them are:
- Voter Disengagement: Failing to retain among millions of voters that backed the Democratic ticket during the previous election became a critical factor in the narrowly decided recent race.
- The Decision to Run: The determined decision of a party leader to run again, coupled with a very late exit, is viewed as robbing Democratic voters the chance for open primaries.
- Abandoning Everyday Americans: While facing inflation, the campaign allegedly bowing to elite contributors while failing to confront the impact of big business.
- The Foreign Policy Factor: The refusal to reconsider an approach on a major international conflict allegedly caused losing key demographic groups, especially with youth voters, Arab American communities, Muslim voters.
- Eroding Young Voter Allegiance: Research indicates a significant decline in Democratic support among the youth electorate.
A Pattern Shunning Scrutiny
The decision to withhold aligns with a recurring tendency of evading uncomfortable facts. This mirrors an episode where nearly all Democratic officeholder in Congress supported a sitting president's decision for running for re-election until a disastrous televised debate led to a reversal.
At the same time, a significant majority of Democratic voters were continually telling researchers that they did not want that candidate to seek re-election.
Campaign Spending Questions
A thorough autopsy might also probe matters about where money went, such as how much money flowed to party strategists as well as media firms during an electoral effort that managed to spend a staggering war chest in a short period.
The Underlying Implication
At its core, the secrecy of the official autopsy highlights a deference to the established hierarchy that oversaw a disastrous electoral effort. The signal to ordinary supporters – which includes millions of small donors – is that they cannot be trusted to know the lessons party chiefs claim to have learned based on an analysis compiled from feedback from all states.
A party unwilling to honestly assess where it went wrong will struggle to break free from the rut that ended up being so advantageous to the winning candidate.
