This move by the Democratic National Committee to block the publication regarding its own post-election analysis concerning the last presidential race seems stunning yet to be expected. Opposed to hard truths, the Democrats' governing body often functions more like a publicity machine than an electoral entity focused on cultivating a volunteer base for winning elections.
A Climate of Conformity
Reluctant to challenge the party establishment's culture of conformity, the DNC has continued within the influence of the previous administration throughout this past year. Making public the findings could have demonstrated that the leadership truly desire to promote public discourse regarding the strategic failures that enabled the former president to return to the White House. However, the committee is acting under the pretense that there is little to glean following the stunning loss from the last cycle.
Our guiding principle: will this lead to victory? Should the answer be negative, it becomes a sideline issue from the core mission," an explanation reportedly given to justify concealing the analysis.
Major Failures a Report Would Have Addressed
An autopsy report worth its salt would confront a series of difficult topics. These include:
- Voter Disenchantment: Failing to retain of a significant portion of the electorate that backed the party's candidate during the previous election was decisive during the tight recent race.
- A Decision to Run: The unwavering decision by the incumbent to stay in the race, alongside an extremely delayed exit, has been criticized as denying Democratic voters the chance for open primaries.
- Failing Core Democratic Voters: Amid rising costs, the campaign is criticized for ceding to corporate donors' interests and not managing to confront the impact of profit-seeking.
- The Gaza Effect: The failure to reconsider a policy position concerning a ongoing war is cited as alienating many voters, especially among youth voters, Arab-Americans, and Muslim Americans.
- Losing Young Voter Allegiance: Research demonstrates a huge drop-off in votes for the candidate among young voters.
A History Avoiding Accountability
The decision to withhold is consistent with a recurring tendency of evading uncomfortable facts. It echoes a dynamic where nearly all Democratic officeholder in Washington went along with a sitting president's determination to seeking another term until a poor televised debate compelled a change.
Meanwhile, overwhelming numbers of the electorate were repeatedly informing pollsters that they did not want that candidate to be the nominee.
Campaign Spending Issues
An honest analysis would also probe issues regarding where money went, including how much money went to insider consultants as well as ad buyers during an electoral effort that managed to spend a staggering war chest over a few months.
A Broader Issue
At its core, the secrecy of the official autopsy points to an allegiance to party leaders that oversaw an unsuccessful presidential campaign. The signal for the party's base – including countless small donors – is that they cannot be trusted to see the lessons the insiders have learned based on hundreds of interviews based on extensive interviews.
An organization unwilling to critically review its mistakes is unlikely to escape the pattern that ended up being so advantageous to the rival party.
