This move from the DNC to block the public viewing regarding its own post-election analysis concerning the last presidential race is stunning but not surprising. Resistant to unpleasant candor, the DNC operates more like a communications shop rather than a political organization committed to building local power for winning elections.
An Environment Resistant to Internal Critique
Reluctant to depart from the prevailing attitude of conformity, the DNC has remained within that legacy throughout this past year. Making public such a report might have shown whether party leaders actually want to encourage public discourse regarding the missteps that enabled the former president to become president again. Yet, the leadership is moving forward under the pretense that there are no lessons to understand following the electoral catastrophe from the last cycle.
The top priority: is this good for winning elections? If the answer is no, it becomes a sideline issue from what truly matters," a rationale that has been offered for withholding the report.
Major Failures an Analysis Could Have Explored
Any valuable post-mortem worth its salt would not dodge certain uncomfortable matters. These include:
- Electoral Disenchantment: Failing to retain of a significant portion of the electorate who voted for the party's candidate during the previous election was decisive during the tight recent race.
- A Decision to Seek Re-election: The determined choice by a party leader to run again, and a very late step-aside, has been criticized as denying Democratic voters of open primaries.
- Failing the Working-Class Base: While facing economic anxiety, the electoral effort is criticized for ceding to powerful financial backers and not managing to address the effects of profit-seeking.
- The Foreign Policy Impact: The refusal to reconsider a stance concerning a major international conflict allegedly caused losing significant blocs, notably with young people, Arab American communities, Muslim voters.
- Eroding Young Voter Support: Polling data demonstrates a major drop-off in Democratic support from young voters.
A Record Avoiding Accountability
This refusal is consistent with a recurring tendency of evading hard truths. This mirrors an episode in which virtually every Democratic officeholder in Washington supported an incumbent's insistence on seeking another term until a disastrous public debate performance compelled a change.
Meanwhile, a significant majority within the party's base were repeatedly informing researchers that they did not want that candidate to run again.
Financial Issues
A thorough analysis might also probe issues regarding campaign spending, such as what sums flowed to party strategists as well as media firms over the course of a campaign that managed to spend an enormous sum in a short period.
A Broader Implication
Ultimately, the suppression of the official autopsy points to a submission to the established hierarchy that oversaw an unsuccessful electoral effort. The message to rank-and-file members – which includes countless small donors – appears to be that they cannot have a right to understand the lessons party chiefs claim to have learned based on hundreds of interviews based on feedback from all states.
An organization incapable to critically review its mistakes will struggle to escape the cycle that proved so helpful to the rival party.
