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The action from the DNC to withhold the publication of its internal post-election analysis concerning the last presidential race is stunning yet entirely predictable. Averse to unpleasant candor, the party's leadership apparatus often functions closer to a communications shop rather than a political organization focused on cultivating grassroots capacities capable of prevailing at the polls.

An Environment Resistant to Internal Critique

Reluctant to challenge the party establishment's culture demanding unity, the committee has stayed within the Biden-Harris shadow all through this past year. Releasing the findings would have indicated that party leaders truly desire to promote honest conversation about the missteps that paved the way for the former president to return to the White House. Yet, the leadership is moving forward under the pretense that there is little to understand from the electoral catastrophe from the last cycle.

Our guiding principle: will this lead to victory? If the answer is no, it’s a distraction from what truly matters," a rationale reportedly given to justify concealing the analysis.

Major Failures an Autopsy Could Have Examined

Any valuable post-mortem with any value would tackle head-on certain uncomfortable matters. These include:

• Voter Disenchantment: The loss of millions of voters who supported the Democratic ticket during the previous election became a critical factor in the close recent race.
• A Insistence to Seek Re-election: The unwavering decision of the incumbent to run again, coupled with an extremely delayed withdrawal, is viewed as denying Democratic voters of a competitive nomination process.
• Losing Touch With Core Democratic Voters: While facing rising costs, the electoral effort reportedly ceding to elite contributors while failing to address the effects of big business.
• A Gaza Effect: The failure to reconsider an approach on a ongoing war reportedly led to driving away key demographic groups, particularly with young people, Arab-Americans, and Muslim Americans.
• Losing Youth Backing: Research indicates a major decline of support for the party from young voters.

A Pattern of Evasion

The decision to withhold is consistent with a longstanding habit of sidestepping hard truths. It echoes a dynamic in which nearly all elected Democrat in Congress supported a sitting president's determination to running for re-election until a poor public debate performance compelled a change.

At the same time, a significant majority of the electorate had been repeatedly informing researchers that they did not want the incumbent to run again.

Campaign Spending Concerns

An honest report could examine issues regarding financial allocations, such as how much money were directed to party strategists as well as ad buyers over the course of a campaign which expended an enormous amount in a short period.

The Underlying Issue

Fundamentally, the blockage surrounding this report points to an allegiance to party leaders that oversaw a disastrous electoral effort. The implication to the party's base – which includes millions of small donors – is that they do not have a right to understand what the insiders have learned from an analysis compiled from extensive interviews.

An organization incapable to publicly examine its own failings is unlikely to escape the rut that ended up being so helpful to their opponents.