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The decision from the Democratic National Committee to block the release of its internal post-election analysis on the 2024 election is shocking however entirely predictable. Resistant to frank assessments, the DNC behaves closer to a communications shop than an electoral entity committed to cultivating local power capable of prevailing at the polls.

A Culture That Avoids Dissent

Unwilling to depart from the party establishment's culture of conformity, the DNC has stayed within the Biden-Harris shadow throughout this past year. Making public an official autopsy might have shown whether party leaders are interested to foster open debate about the strategic failures that enabled the former president to return to the White House. Instead, the committee is acting under the pretense that there is little to glean from the tragic debacle from the last cycle.

"Here’s our North Star: is this good for winning elections? If not, it becomes a sideline issue from what truly matters," an explanation which was presented for withholding the analysis.

Major Failures a Report Could Have Addressed

An autopsy report worth its salt would confront key points of failure. Among them are:

• Voter Disenchantment: Losing among a significant portion of the electorate that backed the party's candidate during the previous election became a critical factor during the tight 2024 election.
• The Choice to Run: The unwavering choice of a party leader to seek re-election, coupled with a last-minute exit, is viewed as robbing the party's base of open primaries.
• Losing Touch With Core Democratic Voters: Amid rising costs, the campaign is criticized for ceding to elite contributors and not managing to confront the role of big business.
• A Foreign Policy Effect: The refusal to reconsider a stance regarding a major international conflict reportedly led to losing key demographic groups, notably among young people, Arab American communities, Muslim voters.
• Eroding Youth Support: Extensive evidence indicates a significant decrease in votes for the candidate among voters aged 18-29.

A Record of Evasion

Choosing secrecy aligns with a recurring tendency of sidestepping uncomfortable facts. This mirrors a dynamic in which virtually every Democratic officeholder in Congress acquiesced to an incumbent's decision for seeking another term until a disastrous televised debate forced a change.

At the same time, large majorities of the electorate were repeatedly informing surveyors that they opposed that candidate to be the nominee.

Campaign Spending Issues

A substantive report might also examine issues about where money went, including what sums went to insider consultants and advertising contractors over the course of an electoral effort that burned through a staggering amount during the general election.

The Larger Problem

At its core, the blockage surrounding this report is symptomatic of a deference to party leaders responsible for a losing national race. The signal to ordinary supporters – which includes millions of dedicated activists – is that they do not have a right to know the lessons the insiders have learned from hundreds of interviews drawing from conversations with insiders.

A political entity incapable to publicly examine its mistakes will struggle to break free from the cycle that ended up being so helpful to their opponents.