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The decision by the Democratic National Committee to suppress the public viewing regarding its internal autopsy report concerning the last presidential race appears stunning however to be expected. Resistant to unpleasant candor, the party's leadership apparatus operates closer to a PR firm 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 DNC has continued under that legacy all through this past year. Making public an official autopsy could have demonstrated whether party leaders actually want to promote honest conversation about the strategic failures that enabled the former president to become president again. Yet, the committee is acting under the pretense that there's nothing to understand following the tragic debacle from the last cycle.

The top priority: will this lead to victory? If not, it is an unnecessary diversion from our fundamental goal," an explanation which was presented to justify concealing the analysis.

Critical Problems an Autopsy Could Have Examined

A genuine analysis of substance would tackle head-on certain uncomfortable matters. Among them are:

• Electoral Alienation: Failing to retain of millions of voters who supported the party's candidate during the previous election proved pivotal in the narrowly decided recent race.
• The Choice to Seek Re-election: The unwavering choice of a party leader to seek re-election, and an extremely delayed withdrawal, is seen by some as denying Democratic voters the chance for open primaries.
• Failing Everyday Americans: Amid rising costs, the electoral effort allegedly bowing to corporate donors' interests without successfully attempting to challenge the role of corporate greed.
• A Foreign Policy Impact: An unwillingness to adjust a stance regarding a ongoing war reportedly led to alienating significant blocs, especially among young people, Arab American communities, Muslim voters.
• Losing Young Voter Support: Polling data demonstrates a significant decrease in support for the party among the youth electorate.

A Record Shunning Scrutiny

The decision to withhold fits a longstanding habit to avoid difficult realities. It echoes an episode in which the vast majority of Democratic officeholder in Washington supported a sitting president's decision for seeking another term right up until a catastrophic public debate performance forced a change.

Meanwhile, overwhelming numbers of Democratic voters were repeatedly informing pollsters of their opposition to that candidate to be the nominee.

Campaign Spending Questions

An honest analysis might also examine issues about financial allocations, including the amounts were directed to party strategists as well as ad buyers over the course of a campaign that burned through a staggering sum during the general election.

A Broader Issue

At its core, the blockage of the official autopsy is symptomatic of a submission toward the existing power structure who engineered a disastrous presidential campaign. The implication to rank-and-file members – which includes millions of small donors – appears to be that they cannot have a right to know what the leadership have learned from hundreds of interviews compiled from feedback from all states.

A party unwilling to honestly assess where it went wrong finds it difficult to climb out of the cycle that proved so helpful to the rival party.