This decision by the DNC to withhold the release regarding its own post-election analysis concerning the last presidential race is remarkable however to be expected. Resistant to unpleasant candor, the DNC operates closer to a PR firm than an electoral entity devoted to building grassroots capacities for winning elections.
An Environment Resistant to Internal Critique
Hesitant to depart from the prevailing attitude demanding unity, the DNC has remained under the influence of the previous administration throughout this past year. Making public an official autopsy could have demonstrated whether party leaders truly desire to foster public discourse regarding the missteps that enabled the former president to win re-election. However, the committee is acting as if there are no lessons to be learned from the tragic debacle from the last cycle.
Our guiding principle: will this lead to victory? Should the answer be negative, it’s a distraction from our fundamental goal," a justification that has been offered to justify concealing the report.
Major Failures an Autopsy Would Have Examined
An autopsy report of substance would confront a series of difficult topics. These include:
- Electoral Alienation: Losing among millions of voters who voted for the Democratic ticket during the previous election proved pivotal during the tight recent race.
- The Insistence to Seek Re-election: The unwavering insistence of the incumbent to stay in the race, and a last-minute step-aside, has been criticized as denying Democratic voters the chance for a competitive nomination process.
- Failing Core Democratic Voters: Amid economic anxiety, the electoral effort is criticized for ceding to powerful financial backers and not managing to confront the role of profit-seeking.
- A Gaza Factor: The refusal to shift a stance on the situation in Gaza reportedly led to losing many voters, especially with young people, Arab-Americans, Muslim voters.
- A Decline in Youth Backing: Research demonstrates a huge decrease of votes for the candidate among young voters.
A Pattern Shunning Scrutiny
The decision to withhold fits a pattern to avoid uncomfortable facts. It recalls an episode in which virtually every Democratic officeholder in Congress went along with a sitting president's decision for seeking another term right up until a disastrous public debate performance led to an exit.
Concurrently, overwhelming numbers of Democratic voters had been consistently telling pollsters of their opposition to the incumbent to run again.
Financial Concerns
A substantive report could examine matters regarding campaign spending, including what sums went to high-priced advisors as well as advertising contractors over the course of an electoral effort which expended an enormous amount over a few months.
A Broader Implication
Fundamentally, the secrecy surrounding this report is symptomatic of a deference toward the existing power structure who engineered an unsuccessful national race. The signal for rank-and-file members – including countless loyal volunteers – appears to be that they do not be trusted to know the lessons the insiders say they discovered from hundreds of interviews based on extensive interviews.
A party incapable to honestly assess where it went wrong will struggle to break free from the rut that ended up being so beneficial to the rival party.
