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This decision by the DNC to block the release of its internal post-election analysis concerning the 2024 election appears shocking but not surprising. Averse to frank assessments, the Democrats' governing body behaves closer to a PR firm than an electoral entity devoted to building local power to secure victories.

A Climate Resistant to Internal Critique

Unwilling to break with the prevailing attitude of conformity, the DNC has continued within the Biden-Harris shadow throughout this past year. Publishing the findings would have indicated whether the leadership are interested to foster honest conversation about the missteps that paved the way for the former president to win re-election. Instead, the committee is acting under the pretense that there are no lessons to understand from the stunning loss of 2024.

The top priority: is this good for winning elections? If not, it is an unnecessary diversion from our fundamental goal," an explanation reportedly given for withholding the document.

Critical Problems a Report Could Have Examined

An autopsy report of substance would tackle head-on a series of difficult topics. These include:

• Electoral Disengagement: The loss of a significant portion of the electorate who supported the party's candidate during the previous election became a critical factor during the tight recent race.
• The Choice to Seek Re-election: The stubborn choice of a party leader to run again, alongside an extremely delayed step-aside, has been criticized as denying the party's base of open primaries.
• Abandoning the Working-Class Base: During a time of inflation, the campaign allegedly ceding to corporate donors' interests while failing to confront the role of profit-seeking.
• The Gaza Effect: The refusal to reconsider an approach regarding the situation in Gaza reportedly led to losing key demographic groups, notably with young people, Arab American communities, and Muslim Americans.
• Losing Young Voter Support: Research demonstrates a major decline of votes for the candidate among voters aged 18-29.

A Pattern Shunning Scrutiny

The decision to withhold aligns with a recurring tendency to avoid difficult realities. It recalls an episode where the vast majority of Democratic officeholder in Congress acquiesced to an incumbent's decision for seeking another term right up until a catastrophic campaign event led to a reversal.

At the same time, large majorities within the party's base were repeatedly informing pollsters that they did not want the incumbent to run again.

Financial Concerns

An honest autopsy would also examine issues about where money went, such as how much money went to insider consultants as well as ad buyers during an electoral effort that burned through a colossal sum during the general election.

The Larger Implication

Ultimately, the blockage of the official autopsy is symptomatic of an allegiance toward the existing power structure who engineered a losing national race. The implication for the party's base – which includes millions of dedicated activists – appears to be that they do not be trusted to know what the insiders claim to have learned based on hundreds of interviews drawing from conversations with insiders.

An organization incapable to publicly examine its mistakes finds it difficult to break free from the cycle that proved so helpful to the rival party.