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The move from the Democratic National Committee to withhold the publication of its own post-election analysis on the last presidential race seems remarkable yet entirely predictable. Averse to hard truths, the Democrats' governing body operates more like a publicity machine rather than an electoral entity focused on building local power capable of prevailing at the polls.

An Environment Resistant to Internal Critique

Unwilling to break with the party establishment's culture demanding unity, the committee has stayed within the Biden-Harris shadow all through this past year. Publishing an official autopsy might have shown that party leaders are interested to foster open debate about the missteps that paved the way for the former president to become president again. Instead, the leadership is moving forward as if there is little to be learned from the tragic debacle of 2024.

Our guiding principle: is this good for winning elections? Should the answer be negative, it’s a distraction from what truly matters," a justification which was presented to justify concealing the analysis.

Major Failures a Report Would Have Addressed

Any valuable post-mortem with any value would not dodge certain uncomfortable matters. Among them are:

• Electoral Disenchantment: The loss of millions of voters that backed the Democratic ticket in 2020 was decisive in the narrowly decided recent race.
• The Insistence to Seek Re-election: The stubborn choice by the incumbent to stay in the race, alongside an extremely delayed exit, has been criticized as robbing Democratic voters the chance for a competitive nomination process.
• Losing Touch With Everyday Americans: Amid rising costs, the electoral effort is criticized for ceding to powerful financial backers and not managing to challenge the effects of big business.
• The Foreign Policy Effect: An unwillingness to reconsider a stance concerning a major international conflict is cited as alienating key demographic groups, particularly with youth voters, Arab American communities, and Muslim Americans.
• Eroding Young Voter Backing: Extensive evidence indicates a huge drop-off in Democratic support among young voters.

A History Shunning Scrutiny

This refusal aligns with a recurring tendency to avoid difficult realities. It echoes an episode in which virtually every elected Democrat in Washington went along with an incumbent's determination to running for re-election right up until a poor televised debate compelled an exit.

Meanwhile, overwhelming numbers of the electorate had been consistently telling researchers that they did not want the incumbent to run again.

Campaign Spending Issues

A thorough autopsy would also investigate questions about campaign spending, including what sums went to party strategists as well as advertising contractors during an electoral effort that burned through a staggering sum over a few months.

A Underlying Implication

Fundamentally, the secrecy of the official autopsy highlights a submission toward party leaders responsible for an unsuccessful presidential campaign. The implication to rank-and-file members – including countless dedicated activists – is that they cannot be trusted to see what the insiders have learned from a report based on conversations with insiders.

An organization unwilling to critically review where it went wrong is unlikely to break free from the cycle which was so advantageous to their opponents.