This decision from the DNC to block the release of its own post-election analysis on the last presidential race is shocking yet entirely predictable. Opposed to frank assessments, the party's leadership apparatus behaves more like a communications shop than an electoral entity committed to cultivating grassroots capacities capable of prevailing at the polls.
A Culture of Conformity
Hesitant to break with the party establishment's culture demanding unity, the DNC has stayed within the influence of the previous administration all through this past year. Publishing such a report would have indicated whether the leadership truly desire to foster public discourse about the missteps which allowed the former president to return to the White House. Yet, the DNC is proceeding under the pretense that there's nothing to understand from the electoral catastrophe from the last cycle.
The top priority: is this good for winning elections? Should the answer be negative, it becomes a sideline issue from our fundamental goal," an explanation reportedly given to justify concealing the analysis.
Major Failures a Report Would Have Examined
A genuine analysis with any value would tackle head-on certain uncomfortable matters. These include:
- Electoral Alienation: Losing of a significant portion of the electorate who supported the Democratic ticket during the previous election was decisive during the tight recent race.
- A Insistence to Run: The determined decision by a party leader to stay in the race, and a last-minute step-aside, has been criticized as robbing Democratic voters the chance for a genuine choice.
- Abandoning the Working-Class Base: While facing economic anxiety, the electoral effort reportedly accommodating elite contributors without successfully attempting to address the effects of profit-seeking.
- The Foreign Policy Impact: The refusal to reconsider a policy position on a major international conflict reportedly led to driving away key demographic groups, especially among young people, Arab-Americans, and Muslim Americans.
- Eroding Youth Backing: Research shows a huge drop-off in votes for the candidate among young voters.
A Pattern Shunning Scrutiny
The decision to withhold fits a longstanding habit to avoid hard truths. It echoes a dynamic where virtually every elected Democrat in Congress supported an incumbent's determination to running for re-election right up until a disastrous public debate performance forced a reversal.
At the same time, large majorities within the party's base had been continually telling pollsters that they did not want that candidate to run again.
Financial Issues
A substantive report could examine matters about campaign spending, such as the amounts went to high-priced advisors as well as advertising contractors during a campaign which expended an enormous sum during the general election.
A Larger Problem
At its core, the secrecy regarding the analysis is symptomatic of a deference toward the existing power structure responsible for an unsuccessful presidential campaign. The signal to the party's base – which includes countless small donors – appears to be that they cannot be trusted to see the lessons the insiders claim to have learned from a report based on feedback from all states.
An organization unwilling to honestly assess its own failings will struggle to break free from the cycle that ended up being so beneficial to their opponents.
