The action by the Democratic National Committee to withhold the release of its internal autopsy report concerning the last presidential race is stunning yet not surprising. Opposed to frank assessments, the Democrats' governing body behaves closer to a communications shop than a political organization focused on cultivating a volunteer base to secure victories.
A Culture of Conformity
Unwilling to challenge the party establishment's culture demanding unity, the DNC has stayed under the Biden-Harris shadow throughout this past year. Making public an official autopsy would have indicated whether party leaders actually want to promote public discourse regarding the errors that enabled the former president to win re-election. Yet, the committee is acting as if there are no lessons to understand 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," a justification reportedly given for withholding the report.
Major Failures an Autopsy Would Have Examined
Any valuable post-mortem worth its salt would confront a series of difficult topics. Among them are:
- Electoral Alienation: Failing to retain of a significant portion of the electorate who voted for the Democratic ticket in 2020 proved pivotal in the close recent race.
- The Decision to Run: The stubborn decision of the incumbent to seek re-election, and a very late step-aside, is seen by some as robbing the party's base the chance for a competitive nomination process.
- Losing Touch With Everyday Americans: While facing inflation, the electoral effort allegedly ceding to corporate donors' interests without successfully attempting to confront the role of corporate greed.
- The Gaza Effect: The refusal to reconsider a stance on a ongoing war is cited as losing significant blocs, especially among young people, Arab-Americans, Muslim voters.
- Losing Young Voter Backing: Research indicates a significant decline in Democratic support among the youth electorate.
A Pattern Shunning Scrutiny
Choosing secrecy is consistent with a pattern of sidestepping difficult realities. It echoes an episode where nearly all Democratic officeholder in Congress supported a sitting president's determination to seeking another term right up until a catastrophic public debate performance forced a change.
At the same time, a significant majority of the electorate were repeatedly informing pollsters that they did not want that candidate to seek re-election.
Financial Issues
A thorough analysis might also investigate issues about financial allocations, such as how much money flowed to high-priced advisors and advertising contractors over the course of a campaign which expended an enormous war chest in a short period.
The Broader Problem
Fundamentally, the blockage of the official autopsy points to a submission to party leaders that oversaw a disastrous electoral effort. The signal to ordinary supporters – including millions of dedicated activists – appears to be that they cannot have a right to understand what the insiders say they discovered from a report drawing from extensive interviews.
An organization unable to critically review where it went wrong will struggle to break free from the rut which was so beneficial to their opponents.
