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The action by the Democratic National Committee to suppress the publication of its internal autopsy report concerning the last presidential race appears shocking yet entirely predictable. Opposed to hard truths, the Democrats' governing body behaves more like a publicity machine than a political organization committed to cultivating a volunteer base to secure victories.

A Climate of Conformity

Hesitant to break with the party establishment's culture demanding unity, the DNC has remained under the Biden-Harris shadow throughout this past year. Releasing the findings would have indicated whether the leadership truly desire to promote honest conversation about the missteps which allowed the former president to win re-election. Yet, the leadership is moving forward as if there are no lessons to understand following the stunning loss from the last cycle.

Our guiding principle: is this good for winning elections? Should the answer be negative, it becomes a sideline issue from the core mission," a justification which was presented for withholding the analysis.

Major Failures an Analysis Could Have Explored

Any valuable post-mortem worth its salt would tackle head-on key points of failure. Among them are:

• Voter Disenchantment: Losing among a significant portion of the electorate who voted for the party's candidate in 2020 became a critical factor in the narrowly decided recent race.
• A Choice to Run: The determined choice by the incumbent to stay in the race, alongside a last-minute exit, is viewed as denying Democratic voters of open primaries.
• Abandoning the Working-Class Base: During a time of inflation, the electoral effort reportedly ceding to powerful financial backers and not managing to challenge the effects of corporate greed.
• The Gaza Factor: The refusal to reconsider a stance on the situation in Gaza reportedly led to driving away key demographic groups, especially among youth voters, Arab-Americans, Muslim voters.
• Losing Young Voter Allegiance: Polling data indicates a major decrease in support for the party among young voters.

A Record Avoiding Accountability

Choosing secrecy fits a longstanding habit to avoid difficult realities. It recalls a situation in which the vast majority of Democratic officeholder in Congress acquiesced to a sitting president's determination to running for re-election right up until a poor televised debate forced a reversal.

Meanwhile, large majorities within the party's base had been consistently telling pollsters of their opposition to that candidate to seek re-election.

Campaign Spending Questions

An honest report might also investigate questions about where money went, including how much money flowed to insider consultants as well as media firms during an electoral effort that managed to spend a staggering amount over a few months.

The Larger Problem

Ultimately, the blockage regarding the analysis points to a submission to the existing power structure who engineered an unsuccessful national race. The message to ordinary supporters – including millions of loyal volunteers – appears to be that they do not be trusted to understand the lessons party chiefs have learned based on hundreds of interviews drawing from conversations with insiders.

A party unwilling to critically review its own failings finds it difficult to break free from the rut that proved so beneficial to their opponents.