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The action from the Democratic National Committee to withhold the publication of its own autopsy report concerning the 2024 election appears remarkable but not surprising. Opposed to unpleasant candor, the Democrats' governing body behaves closer to a publicity machine than an electoral entity devoted to building grassroots capacities to secure victories.

An Environment of Conformity

Reluctant to break with the party establishment's culture of conformity, the committee has stayed under the Biden-Harris shadow all through this past year. Releasing an official autopsy might have shown that party leaders are interested to foster public discourse about the errors that enabled Donald Trump to become president again. Instead, the committee is acting under the pretense that there is little to be learned from the stunning loss from the last cycle.

"Here’s our North Star: will this lead to victory? Should the answer be negative, it’s a distraction from the core mission," a justification which was presented for withholding the document.

Key Issues a Report Might Have Explored

An autopsy report worth its salt would not dodge certain uncomfortable matters. These include:

• Voter Disenchantment: The loss among a significant portion of the electorate who supported the party's candidate in 2020 proved pivotal in the narrowly decided recent race.
• The Insistence to Run: The determined decision by the incumbent to stay in the race, alongside a very late step-aside, is seen by some as robbing the party's base of a competitive nomination process.
• Losing Touch With the Working-Class Base: Amid economic anxiety, the electoral effort is criticized for accommodating elite contributors without successfully attempting to challenge the role of big business.
• The Gaza Effect: The failure to adjust a stance concerning a major international conflict reportedly led to losing significant blocs, notably among young people, Arab American communities, Muslim voters.
• A Decline in Youth Backing: Extensive evidence indicates a major decline of support for the party among voters aged 18-29.

A Pattern of Evasion

The decision to withhold fits a longstanding habit of evading hard truths. It echoes an episode in which the vast majority of Democratic officeholder in Congress went along with a sitting president's insistence on seeking another term right up until a catastrophic televised debate led to an exit.

Meanwhile, a significant majority of the electorate were consistently telling researchers that they opposed the incumbent to be the nominee.

Campaign Spending Issues

A thorough report might also probe questions regarding financial allocations, such as what sums were directed to insider consultants and media firms over the course of a campaign which expended an enormous sum in a short period.

The Larger Issue

Ultimately, the secrecy surrounding this report is symptomatic of a deference toward the existing power structure who engineered a losing electoral effort. The implication for the party's base – which includes millions of dedicated activists – is that they cannot have a right to understand the lessons the insiders have learned based on hundreds of interviews drawing from conversations with insiders.

An organization incapable to publicly examine its own failings will struggle to escape the cycle that proved so advantageous to their opponents.