The action from the Democratic National Committee to withhold the public viewing of its internal post-election analysis on the last presidential race appears shocking but entirely predictable. Resistant to unpleasant candor, the DNC behaves closer to a PR firm than an electoral entity committed to building a volunteer base to secure victories.
A Culture Resistant to Internal Critique
Reluctant to depart from the party establishment's culture of conformity, the DNC has stayed within the Biden-Harris shadow all through this past year. Making public the findings could have demonstrated that party leaders are interested to encourage honest conversation regarding the missteps that enabled the former president to become president again. However, the leadership is moving forward as if there are no lessons to understand from the electoral catastrophe from the last cycle.
"Here’s our North Star: is this good for winning elections? If not, it becomes a sideline issue from what truly matters," an explanation reportedly given for withholding the document.
Critical Problems an Analysis Would Have Examined
Any valuable post-mortem with any value would confront a series of difficult topics. Among them are:
- Electoral Alienation: The loss among millions of voters who voted for the party's candidate in 2020 proved pivotal in the close recent race.
- The Decision to Run: The determined choice by the incumbent to seek re-election, and an extremely delayed withdrawal, is seen by some as denying the party's base the chance for a genuine choice.
- Losing Touch With the Working-Class Base: While facing economic anxiety, the campaign allegedly bowing to powerful financial backers while failing to address the impact of corporate greed.
- A Foreign Policy Factor: The refusal to adjust an approach concerning a ongoing war reportedly led to losing many voters, especially with youth voters, Arab American communities, Muslim voters.
- Eroding Young Voter Allegiance: Research demonstrates a huge drop-off in support for the party from young voters.
A Pattern Shunning Scrutiny
Choosing secrecy fits a pattern to avoid difficult realities. This mirrors a dynamic where virtually every Democratic officeholder in Washington acquiesced to an incumbent's determination to seeking another term until a poor televised debate forced a reversal.
Meanwhile, a significant majority within the party's base were continually telling surveyors that they opposed that candidate to run again.
Financial Concerns
An honest report could investigate questions about financial allocations, including what sums flowed to party strategists as well as advertising contractors during a campaign that burned through a staggering war chest during the general election.
The Larger Problem
Fundamentally, the suppression of the official autopsy points to a submission toward party leaders who engineered a losing national race. The implication for ordinary supporters – including countless small donors – appears to be that they cannot have a right to know what party chiefs say they discovered based on an analysis based on feedback from all states.
A party unable to publicly examine its mistakes will struggle to escape the cycle which was so advantageous to the rival party.
