The move from the Democratic National Committee to withhold the release regarding its internal post-election analysis on the last presidential race appears remarkable but not surprising. Resistant to unpleasant candor, the Democrats' governing body operates more like a PR firm rather than an electoral entity devoted to building a volunteer base capable of prevailing at the polls.
A Climate of Conformity
Hesitant to break with the party establishment's culture demanding unity, the DNC has continued within the influence of the previous administration throughout this past year. Making public an official autopsy could have demonstrated that party leaders actually want to encourage open debate regarding the errors that paved the way for Donald Trump to become president again. Instead, the DNC is proceeding as if there are no lessons to glean following the tragic debacle from the last cycle.
"Here’s our North Star: does this help us win? If not, it’s a distraction from the core mission," a justification which was presented for withholding the report.
Key Issues an Autopsy Would Have Addressed
Any valuable post-mortem worth its salt would confront a series of difficult topics. This encompasses:
- Voter Alienation: Failing to retain among a significant portion of the electorate that backed the party's candidate during the previous election proved pivotal in the close recent race.
- The Choice to Seek Re-election: The stubborn insistence of the incumbent to stay in the race, alongside an extremely delayed withdrawal, is seen by some as robbing the party's base the chance for a genuine choice.
- Abandoning Core Democratic Voters: During a time of rising costs, the campaign reportedly ceding to elite contributors and not managing to challenge the effects of corporate greed.
- The Gaza Effect: An unwillingness to adjust an approach concerning a ongoing war reportedly led to driving away significant blocs, particularly among youth voters, Arab American communities, Muslim voters.
- Eroding Young Voter Backing: Extensive evidence shows a major decrease of Democratic support from the youth electorate.
A History Avoiding Accountability
Choosing secrecy fits a longstanding habit to avoid difficult realities. It echoes a situation where virtually every elected Democrat in Congress acquiesced to a sitting president's decision for running for re-election until a disastrous campaign event led to a change.
At the same time, large majorities of the electorate had been continually telling researchers that they opposed the incumbent to seek re-election.
Financial Questions
A thorough report could probe issues regarding campaign spending, such as what sums were directed to party strategists as well as media firms over the course of a campaign which expended an enormous sum in a short period.
A Underlying Problem
At its core, the blockage surrounding this report is symptomatic of an allegiance toward party leaders that oversaw an unsuccessful presidential campaign. The signal for the party's base – including millions of loyal volunteers – appears to be that they do not have a right to know what the insiders say they discovered based on hundreds of interviews based on conversations with insiders.
A political entity unable to publicly examine its own failings is unlikely to climb out of the cycle that ended up being so beneficial to the winning candidate.
