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This move by the DNC to withhold the public viewing of its own autopsy report on the last presidential race is stunning but to be expected. Averse to frank assessments, the Democrats' governing body behaves more like a publicity machine rather than a political organization focused on cultivating grassroots capacities capable of prevailing at the polls.

A Culture That Avoids Dissent

Unwilling to challenge the party establishment's culture of conformity, the committee has continued within that legacy all through this past year. Publishing such a report could have demonstrated that party leaders actually want to encourage honest conversation regarding the strategic failures which allowed the former president to become president again. Instead, the DNC is proceeding under the pretense that there is little to be learned from the electoral catastrophe of 2024.

Our guiding principle: does this help us win? If the answer is no, it becomes a sideline issue from our fundamental goal," a justification that has been offered for withholding the analysis.

Critical Problems an Autopsy Would Have Addressed

Any valuable post-mortem of substance would not dodge key points of failure. Among them are:

• Electoral Disenchantment: Failing to retain among a significant portion of the electorate who supported the Democratic ticket in 2020 proved pivotal in the close 2024 election.
• The Decision to Run: The unwavering choice of a party leader to seek re-election, coupled with a last-minute exit, is viewed as denying Democratic voters of a competitive nomination process.
• Losing Touch With Everyday Americans: Amid economic anxiety, the electoral effort allegedly ceding to powerful financial backers without successfully attempting to address the impact of big business.
• The Foreign Policy Effect: The refusal to reconsider an approach on a ongoing war allegedly caused losing significant blocs, especially with youth voters, Arab American communities, and Muslim Americans.
• A Decline in Youth Support: Polling data indicates a significant decline in Democratic support from the youth electorate.

A History Shunning Scrutiny

Choosing secrecy is consistent with a longstanding habit to avoid uncomfortable facts. This mirrors a dynamic where virtually every elected Democrat in Congress went along with an incumbent's insistence on running for re-election until a poor public debate performance compelled a reversal.

Concurrently, large majorities of the electorate were continually telling pollsters of their opposition to that candidate to seek re-election.

Campaign Spending Questions

A thorough report would also investigate matters regarding campaign spending, including what sums were directed to insider consultants and ad buyers during a campaign that burned through a colossal war chest during the general election.

A Underlying Problem

At its core, the blockage regarding the analysis highlights a deference toward party leaders who engineered an unsuccessful national race. The signal to rank-and-file members – including countless dedicated activists – appears to be that they cannot have a right to understand the lessons the insiders have learned from hundreds of interviews based on conversations with insiders.

A party incapable to honestly assess where it went wrong is unlikely to climb out of the cycle that ended up being so helpful to the winning candidate.