{"id":71,"date":"2025-10-09T21:25:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T21:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/?p=71"},"modified":"2025-10-18T15:00:45","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T15:00:45","slug":"the-democratic-autopsy-of-the-2024-election-is-already-a-total-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/?p=71","title":{"rendered":"The Democratic autopsy of the 2024 election is already a total failure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Come on man!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Chris Cillizza<\/a>. October 9th<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After Democrats lost the White House last November, the party commissioned an autopsy to figure out what, exactly, went wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Led by Paul Rivera, a longtime Democratic party operative, and run in conjunction with the Democratic National Committee, the effort began in March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It appears to be mostly done now \u2014 although a decision has been made by the party to hold off releasing it publicly until next month\u2019s elections in Virginia and New Jersey<\/a>. (I actually think that\u2019s smart politics!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, the DNC has started to brief people about the findings of the autopsy. And those people have started to talk to the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The consensus? Joe Biden did nothing wrong! And Biden\u2019s advanced age? No problem!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a snippet from a Politico story on the soon-to-be released report<\/a> (bolding is mine):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DNC officials argued Democrats didn\u2019t spend early or consistently enough to engage and persuade voters, one of several problems the party faced in 2024, the committee said. Swapping Joe Biden with Kamala Harris atop the ticket intensified those systemic, long-term problems for the party, the officials said, according to two people briefed by the DNC this week and granted anonymity to discuss those conversations. So far, Biden\u2019s age has not come up, they said.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

WHAT?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I first read this, I thought I had mis-read it. How could Biden\u2019s age not have come up???<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, no. I read it right. In fact, here\u2019s the Washington Post version of what the autopsy says<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Those briefed on the preliminary report said they did not hear details related to the handling of former president Joe Biden\u2019s late withdrawal from the race, his perceived infirmity and the lack of a competitive process used to select Harris as his replacement, which many Democrats have said was central to their party\u2019s defeat.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This is BEYOND laughable. Inexcusable. Embarrassing. And, most importantly, a telling indicator that the top officials within the Democratic party still<\/em> don\u2019t get it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To read this full post, become a paid subscriber today! You are investing in an independent journalist who doesn\u2019t take orders from corporate media or either of the two political parties. It\u2019s $6 a month or $60 a year for a paid subscription!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s start with some facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is BEYOND debatable that Joe Biden\u2019s age and the perception that he was either infirm or getting there was critical<\/em> to the 2024 race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were myriad polls conducted last year \u2014 long before Biden\u2019s disastrous performance in the June debate \u2014 that made that clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s one from the New York Times in March<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Do the math: Almost three-quarters of ALL registered voters said last spring that Joe Biden was too old to be an effective president. Half of that group said they \u201cstrongly\u201d agreed with that idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it wasn\u2019t just Republicans and independents who felt that way! A majority (56%) of Democrats said they either \u201cstrongly\u201d agreed with the idea Biden was too old (19%) or \u201csomewhat\u201d agreed (37%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This paragraph from the Times story on the poll speaks volumes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nineteen percent of those who voted for Mr. Biden in 2020, and 13 percent of those who said they would back him in November, said the 81-year-old president\u2019s age was such a problem that he was no longer capable of handling the job.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It was clear for months (and, really, years) that Biden had won because after Donald Trump\u2019s botched handling of the response to Covid-19 and his other associated tomfoolery, people wanted, well, \u201cnormal\u201d again. And Biden\u2019s pledge to be a \u201cbridge\u201d to another generation of political leaders resonated with voters; they believed he would help steer the country through the pandemic and then hand off the baton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poll after poll after poll made that obvious. And yet Democratic leaders ignored it. They insisted Biden\u2019s age was a \u201cmedia\u201d story (whatever the hell that means) and that \u201cregular\u201d people didn\u2019t care about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the debate happened. And the world saw \u2014 literally \u2014 that Biden was in no shape to continue on as president, much less serve another four years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Old news<\/em>, I can hear Democrats shout. Yes, Biden was old! But, he stepped aside! Also, Trump is old!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what that facile analysis misses: When Biden fumbled and bumbled on the debate stage in late June of last year, two things became very clear to any voter who wasn\u2019t a reflexive Democratic partisan (and even to some of them too):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Biden\u2019s inner circle HAD to know that he was rapidly aging (and struggling) before that night<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. They purposely hid (or lied) about his mental and physical health for months<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    And it\u2019s THAT which really mattered \u2014 and matters. The general public felt (and feels) deceived by the Democratic party. They spent months insisting Biden was great \u2014 he outworks all of us!<\/em> \u2014 when they knew<\/em> he wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Reporting done before and after the June debate made very clear that the signs of Biden\u2019s decline were obvious to anyone paying attention. (Sidebar: If you have not read \u201cOriginal Sin<\/a>\u201d or my breakdown of it<\/a>, you should.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \nhttps:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/di70Jt_cAoI?rel=0&autoplay=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=0\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Trust is a fragile thing. It can take years to build and a moment to lose. And I truly believe that in that debate (and the attempts to cover up what it meant afterwards), the Democratic party lost the trust of lots and lots of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    All of which brings me back to the Democratic autopsy of the election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To not make mention of Biden\u2019s age and health \u2014 and the ways in which we now know<\/em> top Democrats worked to keep the facts from the public \u2014 is a gigantic swing and a miss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s Democrats\u2019 other-than-that-how-was-the-play-Mrs.-Lincoln moment. It is IMPOSSIBLE to honestly grapple with what went wrong for Democrats in the last election without confronting Biden\u2019s age and the attempts to cover it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Instead of being honest, Democrats appear to be hiding behind that old campaign canard: If only our message had got out to more people!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is from WaPo<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n

    Some of the early briefings have focused on the way money is spent in Democratic campaigns, the failures in communicating economic issues and Republican advantages in maintaining a party apparatus and network of organizations throughout campaign cycles and not just ahead of presidential elections.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    Yes, fundraising, organization and message are important! But, not nearly as important as what people think of your brand broadly. And the reality is that the Democratic brand is not now \u2014 and was not then \u2014 trusted by the majority of the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I think a whole lot of people believe this about Democrats: If they lied to us about Biden, what else are they lying to us about?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    THAT is the first problem any analysis of the 2024 campaign has to address. And the best way to do that is to own up to it: Yes, Biden was too old. Yes, we should have been more honest about it. And, no, it won\u2019t happen again.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There appears to be zero awareness of that in the early reports out of this Democratic autopsy. If I was a Democrat, that would scare the shit out of me. Because it suggests that the party leaders still<\/em> don\u2019t get it. And if they don\u2019t understand the actual problem, how the hell can they solve it before 2028?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    57 Likes<\/a>\u2219<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    13 Restacks<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Discussion about this post<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ian Mark Sirota<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ian\u2019s Substack<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: What President Biden should have done was to announce in 2022 that he had originally run to return the country to a normal state of affairs (or words to that effect), and that he was not going to seek a second term. That would have resulted in an open primary for the 2024 election which, I suspect, VP Harris would NOT have won. I’ll go one step further: Despite President Trump’s fanatical base never wavering, I’d bet that whoever the Democratic nominee (Whitmer? Newsom? Buttigieg? Bashear? Etc., etc.) was, they would have made it much, much more difficult for Trump to win again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Like (21)<\/a>Reply<\/a>Share<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1 reply<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Taylor<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Taylor<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4d<\/a>Edited<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Joe Biden’s age was not the problem, it was something else far more pernicious. It was the root cause of the damage caused by Representative Pelosi. This same problem was at the root of the damage Ruth Bader Ginsburg inflicted on reproductive rights. Chuck Schumer is the latest example of this problem in all of its glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In a word – hubris and contempt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Joe held on for too long and gave the Dems 107 days to beat the most contemptible president in modern history. Pelosi’s contempt for the next generation of leaders meant that the party continues to appoint dinosaurs to positions that should rightly be handed over to the next generation. RBG could have resigned in time but no, she decided to record videos of her doing push ups. Finally, Chuck writes strongly worded letters… nuff said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Come on man! Chris Cillizza. October 9th After Democrats lost the White House last November, the party commissioned an autopsy to figure out what, exactly, went wrong. Led by Paul Rivera, a longtime Democratic party operative, and run in conjunction with the Democratic National Committee, the effort began in March. It appears to be mostly…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ledewire_sync_enabled":true,"_ledewire_price_cents":50,"_ledewire_teaser":"After Democrats lost the White House last November, the party commissioned an autopsy to figure out what, exactly, went wrong.\r\n\r\nLed by Paul Rivera, a longtime Democratic party operative, and run in conjunction with the Democratic National Committee, the effort began in March.\r\n\r\nIt appears to be mostly done now \u2014 although a\u00a0decision has been made by the party to hold off releasing it publicly until next month\u2019s elections in Virginia and New Jersey. (I actually think that\u2019s smart politics!)\r\n\r\nBut, the DNC has started to brief people about the findings of the autopsy. And those people have started to talk to the media.\r\n\r\nThe consensus? Joe Biden did nothing wrong! And Biden\u2019s advanced age? No problem!","_ledewire_use_excerpt":true,"_ledewire_paywall_enabled":true,"_ledewire_content_id":"be289a15-8961-4a25-9004-c50101c95e12","_ledewire_sync_status":"synced","_ledewire_last_sync":"2025-10-18 15:00:47","_ledewire_error_message":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-analysis"],"ledewire_meta":{"sync_enabled":"1","price_cents":"50","teaser":"After Democrats lost the White House last November, the party commissioned an autopsy to figure out what, exactly, went wrong.\r\n\r\nLed by Paul Rivera, a longtime Democratic party operative, and run in conjunction with the Democratic National Committee, the effort began in March.\r\n\r\nIt appears to be mostly done now \u2014 although a\u00a0decision has been made by the party to hold off releasing it publicly until next month\u2019s elections in Virginia and New Jersey. (I actually think that\u2019s smart politics!)\r\n\r\nBut, the DNC has started to brief people about the findings of the autopsy. And those people have started to talk to the media.\r\n\r\nThe consensus? Joe Biden did nothing wrong! And Biden\u2019s advanced age? No problem!","use_excerpt":"1","paywall_enabled":"1","content_id":"be289a15-8961-4a25-9004-c50101c95e12","sync_status":"synced","last_sync":"2025-10-18 15:00:47","error_message":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=71"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86,"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71\/revisions\/86"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/72"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=71"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=71"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chris-cillizza.ledewire.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=71"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}