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Another One Under the Bus
Has Political Accountability Become a Thing of the Past?
Dan Schaefer
May 21, 2026
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Politics is full of people who refuse to be held accountable. This behavior is not only rampant within our President and his administration, but is beginning to cut across party lines.
Before I get into it, I must point out that I am running for a Missouri State House seat as a Democrat. I joined the party because I believed — and continue to believe — that it has the best potential to bring America back from the brink of authoritarianism and unbounded corruption. But that doesn’t mean I’m not disappointed when I see individuals in the Democratic Party engaging in behavior that mirrors our current administration's juvenile tendency to avoid accountability.
So, here’s the problem: last December, the Chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Ken Martin, broke a promise by refusing to release the so-called “2024 Autopsy Report.” The report attempted to answer how Democrats lost to Donald Trump. This information was not only critically important for future elections but also a golden opportunity for the DNC and Democrats in general to experience a vital moment of introspection. Additionally, it was an opportunity for the DNC to engage in an honest, open conversation with the American people. Sadly, these precious opportunities were squandered.
So, what happened? After suffering immense pressure from Democrats, Mr. Martin recently caved and released the report. In doing so, he offered the following hollow explanation for delaying the release by roughly six months (emphasis mine):
How, we all asked, could Democrats have lost to Donald Trump again? How did we blow through billions of dollars? And where do we go from here?
When I commissioned a comprehensive review of the 2024 election, I started a process to answer those questions while interrogating where our party has systemically and historically fallen short. I didn’t want that process led by anybody directly tied to the 2024 cycle – either the campaign or the consultants involved – and I did not want to put my own thumb on the scale for what might be produced. What I did ask for were actionable takeaways for the future. I wanted real, in-depth, specific recommendations to improve our allocation of resources, tech, data, organizing, media strategy, and more. I chose someone who I thought could produce this type of report.
When I received the report late last year, it wasn’t ready for primetime. Not even close.
It seems Mr. Martin spent precious DNC funds to requisition a critical report, only to offload responsibility for managing it. Months later, when things went sideways, he refused to be held accountable, instead burying the report and blaming someone else for the problem. In my opinion, it was all a classic management screw-up. Claiming he didn’t want to put his “thumb on the scale” did not exonerate him of responsibility for day-to-day management. Yes, Mr. Martin, any manager committed to finding the truth — no matter how much it hurts — can oversee the creation of a report without interfering with its content.
Stepping back and looking at the larger picture, this whole scenario is part of a pervasive problem in politics over the past decade: accountability has disappeared from our collective political dictionary. Worse yet, accountability is often sidestepped by finding a scapegoat to throw under the bus. It is unfortunate that President Trump has normalized this behavior. It is even more unfortunate that it is starting to infiltrate the DNC.
President Harry S. Truman popularized the phrase, “The buck stops here.” If Democrats are ever going to lead this nation again, they must step up their game by taking responsibility, enforcing accountability, and engaging in an honest, open dialogue with the American people. Anything less is irresponsible.
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