This move from the Democratic National Committee to block the public viewing of its own post-election analysis concerning the last presidential race is shocking but entirely predictable. Opposed to unpleasant candor, the DNC behaves more like a PR firm than a political organization committed to cultivating local power capable of prevailing at the polls.
A Climate That Avoids Dissent
Reluctant to depart from the party establishment's culture of conformity, the DNC has stayed within the Biden-Harris shadow all through this past year. Making public such a report might have shown that party leaders actually want to promote honest conversation about the missteps that paved the way for the former president to win re-election. However, the leadership is moving forward under the pretense that there is little to be learned from the electoral catastrophe from the last cycle.
The top priority: is this good for winning elections? Should the answer be negative, it becomes a sideline issue from the core mission," a rationale reportedly given for withholding the analysis.
Key Issues an Autopsy Could Have Examined
An autopsy report of substance would not dodge a series of difficult topics. Among them are:
- Voter Disenchantment: The loss of millions of voters who supported the party's candidate during the previous election became a critical factor during the tight recent race.
- The Choice to Seek Re-election: The determined insistence of a party leader to run again, and a very late withdrawal, is viewed as denying Democratic voters of open primaries.
- Abandoning Everyday Americans: Amid economic anxiety, the campaign is criticized for bowing to powerful financial backers without successfully attempting to confront the effects of corporate greed.
- The Foreign Policy Impact: The refusal to reconsider a policy position concerning a ongoing war reportedly led to driving away many voters, particularly with young people, Arab American communities, and Muslim Americans.
- Eroding Youth Backing: Extensive evidence indicates a significant drop-off in Democratic support from voters aged 18-29.
A Pattern of Evasion
The decision to withhold is consistent with a recurring tendency of evading difficult realities. It recalls a situation in which virtually every elected Democrat in Congress went along with a sitting president's decision for seeking another term until a disastrous televised debate led to a reversal.
Concurrently, overwhelming numbers of the electorate had been continually telling researchers that they did not want that candidate to seek re-election.
Financial Concerns
An honest autopsy might also investigate matters about campaign spending, such as how much money went to insider consultants as well as media firms over the course of an electoral effort which expended an enormous war chest over a few months.
A Larger Problem
Ultimately, the suppression of the official autopsy highlights a submission to the existing power structure who engineered a disastrous presidential campaign. The implication to the party's base – including countless dedicated activists – is that they cannot have a right to understand what the insiders claim to have learned from a report based on feedback from all states.
An organization unable to critically review where it went wrong is unlikely to break free from the cycle that ended up being so beneficial to the winning candidate.
