This action from the DNC to suppress the release regarding its internal post-election analysis concerning the last presidential race seems stunning but to be expected. Averse to unpleasant candor, the DNC often functions closer to a PR firm rather than a political organization focused on building a volunteer base capable of prevailing at the polls.
An Environment of Conformity
Hesitant to depart from the party establishment's culture of conformity, the DNC has stayed within that legacy all through this past year. Releasing an official autopsy would have indicated that party leaders are interested to encourage honest conversation regarding the strategic failures that enabled the former president to become president again. However, the committee is acting under the pretense that there is little to glean following the tragic debacle from the last cycle.
"Here’s our North Star: will this lead to victory? If not, it becomes a sideline issue from the core mission," a rationale which was presented to justify concealing the document.
Major Failures an Analysis Might Have Examined
A genuine analysis worth its salt would confront a series of difficult topics. Among them are:
- Voter Alienation: Failing to retain of millions of voters that backed the party's candidate during the previous election proved pivotal in the close recent race.
- The Decision to Run: The unwavering insistence by the incumbent to run again, alongside a very late step-aside, is seen by some as denying the party's base of open primaries.
- Failing the Working-Class Base: During a time of rising costs, the campaign reportedly accommodating corporate donors' interests and not managing to challenge the effects of big business.
- A Foreign Policy Effect: The failure to adjust a stance concerning a major international conflict allegedly caused alienating key demographic groups, particularly with youth voters, Arab American communities, Muslim voters.
- Losing Young Voter Support: Research indicates a major decline of support for the party among the youth electorate.
A History Shunning Scrutiny
This refusal aligns with a longstanding habit to avoid difficult realities. This mirrors a situation where virtually every elected Democrat in Washington went along with an incumbent's insistence on running for re-election right up until a disastrous public debate performance forced a reversal.
Concurrently, a significant majority of the electorate were repeatedly informing researchers of their opposition to that candidate to seek re-election.
Financial Issues
An honest report could investigate issues about where money went, such as how much money went to insider consultants and ad buyers during an electoral effort that burned through an enormous war chest over a few months.
The Underlying Problem
Ultimately, the suppression surrounding this report highlights a submission toward the established hierarchy that oversaw an unsuccessful electoral effort. The signal for the party's base – which includes millions of loyal volunteers – is that they do not be trusted to understand what the insiders claim to have learned based on an analysis drawing from conversations with insiders.
A political entity unwilling to critically review where it went wrong is unlikely to break free from the cycle that ended up being so helpful to the winning candidate.
