Kamala Harris Didn't Lose Because of Rogan or Gaza

"In a widely shared article he wrote for The Bulwark, Flaherty disclosed that he had been interviewed for the infamous autopsy - which he described as haphazardly produced - and explained what he had told the team behind it. Flaherty gave his unvarnished thoughts on Harris's loss, arguing that endlessly dissected campaign moments - Donald Trump's anti-trans ad, Harris's failure to appear on Joe Rogan's podcast - and contentious issues like Gaza were less important factors than the Democratic Party's shattered "brand" amid widespread discontent around inflation and Joe Biden."

"But in November, Martin announced that he would not release it after all, arguing - rather unconvincingly - that it would not be productive to dwell on the past. The still-unreleased report was meant to provide a comprehensive diagnosis of how and why Kamala Harris lost the presidential election two years ago. Ken Martin, the embattled chair of the Democratic National Committee, ordered it soon after he was elected to the position last February."

"He also opined on how a hidebound party can appeal to today's anti-institution electorate. I spoke with Flaherty about the reaction to his article, why Democrats should stake out an aggressive position on AI, and who in the party he thinks is particularly intriguing right now. Your article got quite a reaction. Have you heard from a lot of people about it? Yeah, I've gotten a lot of good feedback."

"Any points of disagreement that struck you? People had some really interesting thoughts about the brand"

A post-election diagnostic report for the 2024 Democratic loss was commissioned but later withheld. The report was intended to explain how and why Kamala Harris lost the presidential election. A deputy campaign manager for Harris described being interviewed for the report and criticized its production quality. He argued that repeated scrutiny of individual campaign moments mattered less than the Democratic Party’s damaged brand amid public frustration over inflation and dissatisfaction associated with Joe Biden. He also addressed how a rigid party could connect with an electorate that is hostile to institutions. He discussed feedback received after sharing these views and noted that disagreements focused on the party’s brand.

Read at Intelligencer