The action by the DNC to block the publication of its own autopsy report on the last presidential race is stunning but not surprising. Resistant to frank assessments, the party's leadership apparatus behaves more like a communications shop rather than an electoral entity committed to cultivating a volunteer base capable of prevailing at the polls.
An Environment of Conformity
Reluctant to challenge the prevailing attitude demanding unity, the committee has remained within the influence of the previous administration throughout this past year. Releasing such a report would have indicated that the leadership truly desire to encourage honest conversation regarding the missteps that paved the way for the former president to return to the White House. Instead, the leadership is moving forward as if there's nothing to glean following the electoral catastrophe from the last cycle.
The top priority: does this help us win? If the answer is no, it is an unnecessary diversion from our fundamental goal," an explanation that has been offered for withholding the document.
Key Issues a Report Might Have Addressed
An autopsy report worth its salt would not dodge key points of failure. This encompasses:
- Voter Alienation: Losing of millions of voters who supported the Democratic ticket during the previous election proved pivotal in the narrowly decided recent race.
- A Choice to Run: The determined decision of a party leader to seek re-election, and a very late step-aside, is seen by some as denying Democratic voters the chance for a competitive nomination process.
- Abandoning Core Democratic Voters: Amid rising costs, the campaign reportedly accommodating elite contributors without successfully attempting to confront the role of profit-seeking.
- A Foreign Policy Impact: An unwillingness to reconsider a policy position regarding a major international conflict allegedly caused driving away key demographic groups, notably among youth voters, Arab-Americans, and Muslim Americans.
- A Decline in Young Voter Backing: Polling data indicates a huge decline in support for the party among young voters.
A Pattern of Evasion
This refusal fits a recurring tendency of sidestepping difficult realities. This mirrors a dynamic in which the vast majority of elected Democrat in Congress went along with a sitting president's decision for running for re-election right up until a poor campaign event led to an exit.
At the same time, overwhelming numbers within the party's base were continually telling researchers of their opposition to the incumbent to seek re-election.
Financial Concerns
A substantive autopsy could probe issues regarding where money went, such as how much money flowed to high-priced advisors as well as ad buyers during a campaign that managed to spend a staggering sum in a short period.
A Broader Problem
At its core, the secrecy of the official autopsy is symptomatic of an allegiance to party leaders responsible for a losing presidential campaign. The signal to rank-and-file members – including millions of small donors – appears to be that they do not be trusted to know what party chiefs claim to have learned from a report based on feedback from all states.
A party unable to honestly assess where it went wrong will struggle to climb out of the pattern that ended up being so helpful to the winning candidate.
