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The decision from the DNC to withhold the public viewing regarding its own autopsy report concerning the 2024 election is stunning but to be expected. Opposed to frank assessments, the DNC operates more like a publicity machine rather than a political organization committed to cultivating a volunteer base for winning elections.

A Climate of Conformity

Unwilling to break with the prevailing attitude demanding unity, the DNC has stayed under the Biden-Harris shadow all through this past year. Releasing the findings could have demonstrated that party leaders truly desire to encourage public discourse regarding the strategic failures which allowed the former president to win re-election. However, the leadership is moving forward as if there are no lessons to be learned from the tragic debacle of 2024.

"Here’s our North Star: does this help us win? Should the answer be negative, it is an unnecessary diversion from our fundamental goal," an explanation that has been offered to justify concealing the report.

Major Failures an Autopsy Would Have Examined

Any valuable post-mortem of substance would tackle head-on a series of difficult topics. This encompasses:

• Electoral Disenchantment: Losing of millions of voters who voted for the Democratic ticket in 2020 was decisive in the close recent race.
• A Decision to Run: The stubborn insistence of a party leader to seek re-election, coupled with an extremely delayed step-aside, is viewed as robbing the party's base the chance for a competitive nomination process.
• Failing Everyday Americans: While facing inflation, the electoral effort allegedly bowing to corporate donors' interests without successfully attempting to address the role of corporate greed.
• The Gaza Factor: An unwillingness to reconsider a policy position regarding a major international conflict is cited as alienating significant blocs, notably with young people, Arab-Americans, and Muslim Americans.
• Eroding Young Voter Allegiance: Research demonstrates a major decline in Democratic support from voters aged 18-29.

A History Shunning Scrutiny

Choosing secrecy is consistent with a pattern of evading hard truths. It echoes an episode in which virtually every elected Democrat in Congress went along with an incumbent's insistence on running for re-election until a disastrous televised debate led to a change.

At the same time, large majorities of the electorate had been consistently telling pollsters that they opposed that candidate to be the nominee.

Financial Concerns

An honest autopsy might also probe matters about campaign spending, such as what sums flowed to high-priced advisors as well as ad buyers during a campaign which expended a staggering amount over a few months.

The Underlying Implication

Fundamentally, the secrecy regarding the analysis points to a deference to the existing power structure who engineered an unsuccessful presidential campaign. The signal to ordinary supporters – which includes millions of loyal volunteers – is that they do not be trusted to see what party chiefs say they discovered based on a report based on feedback from all states.

An organization incapable to critically review its own failings finds it difficult to climb out of the cycle that ended up being so beneficial to the rival party.