The action by the DNC to withhold the release of its internal post-election analysis concerning the last presidential race is shocking yet not surprising. Opposed to frank assessments, the Democrats' governing body operates more like a communications shop than a political organization devoted to cultivating grassroots capacities for winning elections.
An Environment Resistant to Internal Critique
Unwilling to challenge the party establishment's culture of conformity, the committee has remained under that legacy all through this past year. Releasing such a report would have indicated whether party leaders actually want to promote open debate about the errors that enabled the former president to win re-election. Yet, the leadership is moving forward as if there is little to glean following the electoral catastrophe from the last cycle.
Our guiding principle: is this good for winning elections? If the answer is no, it is an unnecessary diversion from the core mission," a justification reportedly given to justify concealing the document.
Major Failures a Report Would Have Explored
Any valuable post-mortem worth its salt would confront certain uncomfortable matters. These include:
- Electoral Alienation: Losing of a significant portion of the electorate who supported the party's candidate during the previous election was decisive in the close recent race.
- A Choice to Run: The determined choice of a party leader to seek re-election, coupled with a last-minute step-aside, is viewed as robbing Democratic voters the chance for a genuine choice.
- Losing Touch With Everyday Americans: Amid economic anxiety, the electoral effort is criticized for bowing to elite contributors while failing to confront the effects of corporate greed.
- The Gaza Impact: An unwillingness to reconsider a policy position on a major international conflict is cited as losing significant blocs, notably among young people, Arab American communities, and Muslim Americans.
- A Decline in Youth Support: Extensive evidence demonstrates a significant decrease of Democratic support from voters aged 18-29.
A Record Shunning Scrutiny
This refusal fits a recurring tendency of evading uncomfortable facts. This mirrors a dynamic in which the vast majority of Democratic officeholder in Congress went along with an incumbent's decision for seeking another term until a disastrous televised debate compelled a reversal.
Concurrently, large majorities of the electorate had been repeatedly informing pollsters of their opposition to the incumbent to seek re-election.
Financial Questions
A substantive analysis could investigate issues regarding financial allocations, including the amounts went to party strategists and ad buyers during an electoral effort which expended a staggering amount in a short period.
A Broader Problem
Fundamentally, the blockage regarding the analysis points to a submission to the existing power structure responsible for a disastrous national race. The implication for rank-and-file members – which includes millions of small donors – is that they do not be trusted to know the lessons the insiders claim to have learned based on a report drawing from extensive interviews.
A party unable to honestly assess its own failings finds it difficult to break free from the cycle that proved so helpful to the rival party.
