This decision from the Democratic National Committee to suppress the public viewing of its own autopsy report on the last presidential race is shocking however not surprising. Resistant to hard truths, the Democrats' governing body behaves closer to a PR firm rather than a political organization focused on cultivating grassroots capacities for winning elections.
A Culture of Conformity
Unwilling to break with the party establishment's culture demanding unity, the committee has continued within the Biden-Harris shadow throughout this past year. Releasing an official autopsy might have shown that party leaders actually want to encourage honest conversation about the strategic failures which allowed the former president to become president again. However, the committee is acting under the pretense that there's nothing to glean from the stunning loss from the last cycle.
Our guiding principle: does this help us win? If not, it’s a distraction from our fundamental goal," an explanation that has been offered for withholding the report.
Key Issues an Autopsy Might Have Examined
Any valuable post-mortem with any value would not dodge key points of failure. This encompasses:
- Voter Alienation: Failing to retain of a significant portion of the electorate who voted for the party's candidate in 2020 proved pivotal in the narrowly decided recent race.
- The Choice to Seek Re-election: The determined decision by the incumbent to run again, coupled with an extremely delayed exit, is seen by some as denying the party's base the chance for open primaries.
- Abandoning the Working-Class Base: During a time of rising costs, the electoral effort allegedly accommodating elite contributors without successfully attempting to challenge the role of corporate greed.
- A Foreign Policy Effect: The failure to reconsider a stance on the situation in Gaza allegedly caused losing many voters, especially among youth voters, Arab-Americans, and Muslim Americans.
- Losing Youth Allegiance: Polling data indicates a major decline of Democratic support from voters aged 18-29.
A Pattern Avoiding Accountability
The decision to withhold fits a pattern to avoid uncomfortable facts. It recalls a dynamic in which nearly all elected Democrat in Congress acquiesced to an incumbent's decision for seeking another term right up until a disastrous public debate performance led to a change.
Meanwhile, large majorities within the party's base had been repeatedly informing researchers of their opposition to that candidate to seek re-election.
Campaign Spending Questions
A thorough autopsy would also examine questions about financial allocations, such as how much money were directed to party strategists and media firms during a campaign that burned through a staggering amount over a few months.
A Larger Issue
Ultimately, the blockage surrounding this report is symptomatic of a submission to the established hierarchy responsible for an unsuccessful electoral effort. The message for the party's base – which includes countless dedicated activists – appears to be that they do not be trusted to know the lessons the insiders say they discovered based on hundreds of interviews compiled from conversations with insiders.
A political entity incapable to publicly examine its own failings will struggle to break free from the cycle which was so advantageous to their opponents.
