The move by the Democratic National Committee to withhold the publication of its internal autopsy report on the last presidential race seems remarkable however entirely predictable. Resistant to unpleasant candor, the DNC operates more like a publicity machine than a political organization devoted to cultivating grassroots capacities capable of prevailing at the polls.
A Climate of Conformity
Unwilling to challenge the party establishment's culture of conformity, the committee has remained within the influence of the previous administration all through this past year. Making public such a report might have shown whether party leaders truly desire to foster honest conversation regarding the strategic failures that paved the way for Donald Trump to win re-election. Yet, the leadership is moving forward under the pretense that there are no lessons to be learned following the stunning loss from the last cycle.
The top priority: is this good for winning elections? If not, it’s a distraction from our fundamental goal," a rationale that has been offered to justify concealing the report.
Major Failures an Autopsy Could Have Examined
Any valuable post-mortem worth its salt would tackle head-on key points of failure. Among them are:
- Voter Disengagement: Losing among millions of voters who voted for the party's candidate during the previous election became a critical factor during the tight recent race.
- A Insistence to Seek Re-election: The unwavering decision by a party leader to run again, and an extremely delayed exit, has been criticized as robbing the party's base the chance for a competitive nomination process.
- Losing Touch With Everyday Americans: Amid rising costs, the campaign is criticized for ceding to elite contributors and not managing to challenge the role of big business.
- A Foreign Policy Impact: The failure to reconsider a stance regarding the situation in Gaza allegedly caused driving away significant blocs, especially among young people, Arab-Americans, Muslim voters.
- Losing Youth Support: Polling data shows a significant decline in Democratic support from young voters.
A Record Avoiding Accountability
The decision to withhold aligns with a longstanding habit to avoid hard truths. It echoes an episode in which virtually every elected Democrat in Washington supported a sitting president's insistence on running for re-election right up until a catastrophic televised debate led to a reversal.
Meanwhile, overwhelming numbers of the electorate had been continually telling researchers that they did not want the incumbent to seek re-election.
Campaign Spending Issues
A thorough analysis would also examine questions about where money went, such as what sums were directed to party strategists and advertising contractors over the course of an electoral effort that managed to spend a staggering war chest over a few months.
A Larger Issue
Ultimately, the blockage surrounding this report is symptomatic of an allegiance to the established hierarchy who engineered an unsuccessful national race. The signal to the party's base – including millions of small donors – appears to be that they do not be trusted to understand the lessons party chiefs have learned from hundreds of interviews drawing from feedback from all states.
A party unable to critically review its mistakes is unlikely to break free from the rut that ended up being so beneficial to the winning candidate.
