Autopsy Report Shows Democrats Really Are in Disarray

A draft autopsy report released by DNC chairman Ken Martin is unfinished and lacks an executive summary and conclusion. The 192-page document includes marginal notes from DNC staff that challenge many of the consultant’s arguments and data points. Each page carries a disclaimer stating the document reflects the author’s views, that the DNC was not provided underlying sourcing, interviews, or supporting data for many assertions, and that the DNC cannot independently verify the claims. The report offers granular observations about what went wrong in 2024 and what Democrats need to do going forward, but it does not provide a clear blame assessment or a clear path forward. The overall effect is uncertainty rather than clarity.

"The 192-page draft is literally incomplete, with an executive summary and a conclusion that might have somewhat tied it together entirely missing. Just as important, the released version includes marginal notes from DNC staff that constantly call into question a vast number of the author's arguments and data points. In case you miss the effort to distance the party from the document, every page carries this disclaimer: "This document reflects the views of the author, not the DNC. The DNC was not provided with the underlying sourcing, interviews, or supporting data for many of the assertions contained herein and therefore cannot independently verify the claims presented.""

"While the draft written by consultant Paul Rivera offers many granular observations about what went wrong in 2024 and what Democrats need to do going forward, there is neither an assessment nor a prescription that rises to the level of offering clarity to anguished Democratic Party members. Instead, the message that comes through is that Democrats are still processing what happened and what to do about it, but you'll have to get back to them later for anything the least bit definitive. "Democrats really are in disarray" is the unmistakable takeaway."

"To begin, the 192-page draft is literally incomplete, with an executive summary and a conclusion that might have somewhat tied it together entirely missing. Just as important, the released version includes marginal notes from DNC staff that constantly call into question a vast number of the author's arguments and data points. In case you miss the effort to distance the party from the document, every page carries this disclaimer: "This document reflects the views of the author, not the DNC.""

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