{"id":8608,"date":"2026-05-11T09:01:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T13:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=8608"},"modified":"2026-05-11T09:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T13:20:10","slug":"junk-the-autopsy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/junk-the-autopsy\/","title":{"rendered":"Junk the Autopsy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fair and Balanced<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Democratic Party did an \u201cautopsy\u201d of our failure to win the Presidency in 2024.  There\u2019s a lot of \u201cwhat ifs\u201d.  What if the Biden campaign staff that Harris took over misjudged the political environment?  What if they allowed Harris and Walz to continue their attacks on Trump, instead of switching to the \u201cHappy Warrior\u201d mode?  And, was the campaign money spent on the campaign, or on the campaign advisors?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually the report will be released.  The media is desperate to \u201cbalance\u201d coverage.  So much bad stuff reported about Trump; from Iran to ICE to Epstein to profligate spending on ballrooms, trophy monuments and reflecting pools.  As Hillary discovered in 2016, even the New York Times<\/em>  had to \u201cfind dirt\u201d on her, just to look \u201cfair and balanced\u201d (oops, that\u2019s the old Fox News <\/em>slogan).   Like a dog with a bone, they won\u2019t let it go. And it might make for interesting reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Summer of 2024<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But here\u2019s the issue.  We will never be in the reality of the summer of 2024 again.  Think of the remarkable series of events that happened  from June through August.  Biden locked up in the debate with Trump.  Trump literally dodged a bullet in Butler, Pennsylvania.  He then appeared, \u201cwounded and bandaged\u201d, at the Republican Convention, and kissed the helmet of the fireman killed in the attempt. (And look, whether you think the Butler assassination attempt was real or faked, it was definitely amazing political theater. And a man really did get killed protecting his family. The Trump campaign managed to spell his name wrong).  <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the Democratic Party pushed Biden out of the race.  I love Nancy Pelosi; she\u2019s as tough as they come.  The moment when she ignored Biden\u2019s declaration to stay in, and said he was still thinking about it, was \u201cclassic Pelosi\u201d.  Her acolytes, one at a time, called for Biden to step out:  Swalwell to Raskin to Schiff.  Without actually saying it, she shoved Biden to the edge. And, when Biden turned to his old friend Barack Obama for help, there were crickets.  It was only a few days later that he turned the race over to Vice President Harris.  Harris inherited his entire campaign fund and team.  It was the \u201cHarris Campaign\u201d, run by Biden campaigners.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s like the autopsy of that 5000 year old hunter<\/a> found in the glacier in the Swiss Alps.  Sure, it\u2019s fascinating, but it\u2019s a \u201cone off\u201d:  a series of circumstances that will never happen again.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cause of Death<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What are we likely to hear in the \u201cautopsy\u201d?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.  Messaging \u2013 Harris and Walz were pulled off of Trump (remember, \u201che\u2019s just weird\u201d) and put on more positive messages.  The \u201cHappy Warrior\u201d theme became more important than the existential threat that Trump\u2019s potential second Presidency represented (now borne out).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.  Turn out \u2013 3.2 million voters that cast a ballot in 2020 did not cast one in 2024.  Harris was down 6.2 million from Biden\u2019s total in 2020.  Clearly a large portion of the \u201cno shows\u201d were Democrats.  If the 3.2 million voted for Harris, she wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.  Money \u2013 How much of the campaign spending went into the pockets of campaign strategists, charging 20% or more of massive advertising buys? Would that fee for service cost be better spent in get out the vote activities?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Young People \u2013 Did the Democratic campaign take young people for granted?  One obvious gaff: Harris refused to \u201cgo to the mountain\u201d of Joe Rogan, and lost the opportunity to gain influence with his multiple millions of loyal followers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. A subject I\u2019m sure the \u201cautopsy\u201d will never touch:\u00a0\u00a0what were the ramifications of running the first woman as the Presidential nominee, not to mention a person of West Asian and Jamaican descent?\u00a0\u00a0Did that create the impact on voter turnout (see item 2)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Different World<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

2028, the next Presidential election, will be a different world.  And, 2026 is RIGHT NOW.  Democratic Chairman Ken Martin wants to keep Democrats\u2019 \u201ceyes on the prize\u201d of winning back the House and the Senate.  He doesn\u2019t want to feed the media with a story that will disrupt the continual flow of Trump failures.   But the longer he stalls releasing the autopsy, the more clamor the media will create. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the \u201cMeet the Press\u201d gaggle made the right suggestion.  Push the autopsy out the door, Friday, May 22nd<\/sup>, at 5:15 pm.  Sure it will make the news.  But who will be watching on Memorial Day Weekend?  Then it\u2019s out, and done, and the media world can focus on the Ballroom, or the Reflecting Pool, or the Strait of Hormuz, or whatever crazed thing the Trump White House does next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An autopsy means something is dead.  But the challenges of saving the Union are still very much alive.  So get the report out of the way, and let\u2019s go to work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fair and Balanced The Democratic Party did an \u201cautopsy\u201d of our failure to win the Presidency in 2024.  There\u2019s a lot of \u201cwhat ifs\u201d.  What if the Biden campaign staff that Harris took over misjudged the political environment?  What if they allowed Harris and Walz to continue their attacks on Trump, instead of switching to the \u201cHappy Warrior\u201d … Continue reading “Junk the Autopsy”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"The media wants \"red meat\". The Democratic autopsy of the 2024 Presidential campaign is cold and dead, but the media needs it!!!!","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nJunk the Autopsy : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/junk-the-autopsy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Junk the Autopsy : Our America - 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