This move by the DNC to withhold the public viewing of its own post-election analysis on the last presidential race seems remarkable however entirely predictable. Resistant to frank assessments, the DNC behaves closer to a communications shop rather than a political organization devoted to building grassroots capacities for winning elections.
A Culture That Avoids Dissent
Reluctant to challenge the prevailing attitude demanding unity, the committee has continued under the Biden-Harris shadow throughout this past year. Publishing such a report would have indicated that the leadership are interested to promote public discourse about the errors that enabled Donald Trump to win re-election. However, the leadership is moving forward as if there's nothing to be learned from the electoral catastrophe from the last cycle.
Our guiding principle: does this help us win? If not, it is an unnecessary diversion from our fundamental goal," a rationale that has been offered to justify concealing the analysis.
Key Issues a Report Could Have Examined
A genuine analysis with any value would confront certain uncomfortable matters. These include:
- Voter Disenchantment: Failing to retain of a significant portion of the electorate who supported the party's candidate during the previous election became a critical factor in the narrowly decided recent race.
- The Choice to Run: The determined decision of the incumbent to stay in the race, coupled with an extremely delayed step-aside, is viewed as robbing Democratic voters the chance for open primaries.
- Abandoning Everyday Americans: Amid rising costs, the electoral effort allegedly ceding to elite contributors without successfully attempting to address the role of corporate greed.
- A Gaza Factor: An unwillingness to reconsider a stance on a ongoing war is cited as losing many voters, notably among youth voters, Arab-Americans, and Muslim Americans.
- Eroding Youth Support: Extensive evidence indicates a huge drop-off in Democratic support from the youth electorate.
A Pattern Avoiding Accountability
This refusal fits a pattern to avoid hard truths. This mirrors an episode in which virtually every Democratic officeholder in Congress supported an incumbent's determination to seeking another term right up until a catastrophic campaign event compelled a change.
Meanwhile, large majorities within the party's base had been continually telling pollsters that they did not want the incumbent to run again.
Campaign Spending Questions
A thorough report might also probe issues about campaign spending, including the amounts went to insider consultants as well as advertising contractors over the course of a campaign that managed to spend a staggering war chest during the general election.
The Larger Implication
At its core, the blockage regarding the analysis is symptomatic of a deference toward party leaders who engineered a disastrous national race. The signal for the party's base – including millions of loyal volunteers – appears to be that they do not be trusted to understand the lessons party chiefs say they discovered based on an analysis drawing from conversations with insiders.
A party incapable to publicly examine where it went wrong is unlikely to escape the pattern that proved so beneficial to the winning candidate.
