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This move by the DNC to suppress the public viewing regarding its internal autopsy report concerning the 2024 election is stunning but to be expected. Resistant to hard truths, the Democrats' governing body behaves closer to a publicity machine than a political organization committed to cultivating a volunteer base capable of prevailing at the polls.

An Environment That Avoids Dissent

Reluctant to challenge the prevailing attitude demanding unity, the DNC has stayed within that legacy all through this past year. Releasing an official autopsy would have indicated whether the leadership actually want to foster public discourse regarding the errors which allowed the former president to become president again. Yet, the committee is acting under the pretense that there are no lessons to be learned following the tragic debacle of 2024.

"Here’s our North Star: is this good for winning elections? If the answer is no, it is an unnecessary diversion from our fundamental goal," a justification reportedly given for withholding the report.

Critical Problems an Autopsy Might Have Explored

A genuine analysis of substance would tackle head-on a series of difficult topics. Among them are:

• Electoral Disengagement: The loss among millions of voters that backed the Democratic ticket in 2020 was decisive in the narrowly decided recent race.
• The Choice to Seek Re-election: The unwavering insistence by the incumbent to stay in the race, and a last-minute exit, has been criticized 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 powerful financial backers and not managing to confront the impact of big business.
• The Gaza Factor: The failure to adjust a policy position concerning a major international conflict reportedly led to losing significant blocs, especially among young people, Arab American communities, Muslim voters.
• A Decline in Youth Support: Polling data demonstrates a significant drop-off of support for the party among the youth electorate.

A History Shunning Scrutiny

The decision to withhold aligns with a pattern to avoid uncomfortable facts. This mirrors a situation where the vast majority of Democratic officeholder in Congress supported a sitting president's insistence on running for re-election right up until a poor televised debate forced a change.

Meanwhile, a significant majority of Democratic voters were continually telling researchers that they did not want the incumbent to seek re-election.

Financial Issues

A thorough autopsy would also investigate questions regarding where money went, such as the amounts went to party strategists and advertising contractors during a campaign that burned through a staggering war chest over a few months.

The Broader Issue

Fundamentally, the blockage surrounding this report highlights a deference to the existing power structure who engineered a disastrous national race. The implication to ordinary supporters – which includes millions of loyal volunteers – appears to be that they do not have a right to see what the leadership have learned from hundreds of interviews based on feedback from all states.

A political entity incapable to honestly assess its own failings is unlikely to escape the rut that proved so beneficial to the rival party.