The decision by the DNC to block the public viewing regarding its internal autopsy report on the last presidential race appears shocking yet not surprising. Resistant to hard truths, the DNC behaves more like a communications shop rather than a political organization committed to building a volunteer base capable of prevailing at the polls.
A Culture That Avoids Dissent
Reluctant to depart from the party establishment's culture of conformity, the DNC has continued within the Biden-Harris shadow all through this past year. Publishing an official autopsy might have shown that party leaders actually want to encourage open debate regarding the strategic failures which allowed the former president to win re-election. Instead, the committee is acting as if there is little to be learned following the electoral catastrophe from the last cycle.
The top priority: is this good for winning elections? If not, it’s a distraction from the core mission," an explanation reportedly given to justify concealing the document.
Major Failures an Autopsy Would Have Examined
A genuine analysis worth its salt would tackle head-on a series of difficult topics. Among them are:
- Electoral Disenchantment: Failing to retain among a significant portion of the electorate who supported the Democratic ticket during the previous election proved pivotal in the close recent race.
- The Insistence to Run: The stubborn decision by a party leader to stay in the race, coupled with an extremely delayed step-aside, is seen by some as robbing Democratic voters of a genuine choice.
- Failing Core Democratic Voters: Amid inflation, the electoral effort is criticized for ceding to corporate donors' interests without successfully attempting to challenge the effects of corporate greed.
- The Gaza Effect: The refusal to reconsider a policy position concerning the situation in Gaza is cited as alienating significant blocs, notably among young people, Arab-Americans, and Muslim Americans.
- Eroding Young Voter Allegiance: Extensive evidence indicates a major decrease in Democratic support from the youth electorate.
A History Shunning Scrutiny
This refusal aligns with a pattern of evading uncomfortable facts. This mirrors an episode in which the vast majority of elected Democrat in Congress supported an incumbent's decision for running for re-election until a catastrophic public debate performance forced a reversal.
Concurrently, overwhelming numbers of Democratic voters were consistently telling pollsters of their opposition to that candidate to run again.
Financial Issues
An honest analysis could probe issues regarding where money went, such as what sums went to high-priced advisors as well as ad buyers over the course of a campaign that managed to spend a staggering sum during the general election.
The Broader Implication
Fundamentally, the suppression surrounding this report points to a submission to party leaders who engineered an unsuccessful national race. The message to rank-and-file members – including countless dedicated activists – appears to be that they cannot be trusted to understand the lessons party chiefs say they discovered based on an analysis based on conversations with insiders.
A political entity unable to publicly examine where it went wrong finds it difficult to climb out of the cycle which was so helpful to the winning candidate.
