The decision from the DNC to suppress the publication regarding its internal autopsy report concerning the last presidential race seems stunning but to be expected. Averse to unpleasant candor, the DNC behaves more like a PR firm rather than an electoral entity committed to cultivating a volunteer base for winning elections.
A Climate of Conformity
Hesitant to break with the party establishment's culture demanding unity, the DNC has stayed under the Biden-Harris shadow throughout this past year. Releasing such a report would have indicated whether the leadership are interested to promote open debate about the strategic failures which allowed the former president to win re-election. Instead, the DNC is proceeding as if there are no lessons to be learned from the stunning loss from the last cycle.
"Here’s our North Star: does this help us win? Should the answer be negative, it becomes a sideline issue from our fundamental goal," an explanation which was presented for withholding the report.
Key Issues an Autopsy Could Have Addressed
An autopsy report of substance would not dodge a series of difficult topics. This encompasses:
- Voter Alienation: The loss among millions of voters who supported the Democratic ticket in 2020 was decisive during the tight recent race.
- A Choice to Run: The stubborn choice of a party leader to stay in the race, alongside a last-minute exit, is seen by some as robbing the party's base of a competitive nomination process.
- Abandoning Core Democratic Voters: During a time of economic anxiety, the electoral effort is criticized for accommodating elite contributors and not managing to challenge the effects of big business.
- The Gaza Effect: The refusal to adjust a stance concerning a ongoing war allegedly caused alienating many voters, especially with youth voters, Arab-Americans, Muslim voters.
- A Decline in Young Voter Allegiance: Extensive evidence indicates a major decrease in support for the party among young voters.
A History Shunning Scrutiny
The decision to withhold aligns with a longstanding habit of evading hard truths. This mirrors an episode in which virtually every elected Democrat in Congress supported an incumbent's decision for running for re-election right up until a poor public debate performance forced an exit.
Meanwhile, large majorities of the electorate were consistently telling surveyors of their opposition to that candidate to seek re-election.
Campaign Spending Issues
An honest report would also investigate questions about financial allocations, such as what sums flowed to party strategists and ad buyers during an electoral effort which expended a colossal sum over a few months.
A Underlying Problem
Ultimately, the suppression surrounding this report is symptomatic of a submission toward the existing power structure responsible for an unsuccessful electoral effort. The implication to the party's base – which includes millions of small donors – appears to be that they cannot have a right to know what the insiders say they discovered based on a report drawing from feedback from all states.
A party unwilling to honestly assess its mistakes will struggle to escape the rut that proved so beneficial to their opponents.
