Latinos are waking up to the duplicity of the Democrats

Then you have the Democrats, who take Latino voters for granted and whose entire Latino outreach strategy can be summed up in six words: "Vote for us. We're not Republican."

That's it? I don't know about you, but I'm still hungry.

Democrats weren't always impotent when it came to Latino voters, but it's been that way at least since 2000. That's when Bill Clinton (who was popular with Latinos) left the stage, and George W. Bush (who got 40 percent of the Latino vote in 2004) took his place.

Democrats were boxed in by three factors -- African-Americans, working-class whites, and organized labor. Democrats were afraid that African-Americans would bristle at a new group getting attention that should go to them. They were also afraid of being portrayed as soft on border security by Republicans in the same way that -- in the days of Sen. George McGovern, D-S.D. -- they were portrayed as soft on national security. And they were tied down by organized labor, whose rank-and-file members remain vehemently opposed to any immigration reform that gives the undocumented legal status.

At best, Democrats didn't defend Latinos from evil, racist and mean-spirited attacks by the GOP. At worst, they joined in.

Some Democrats opposed the 1986 amnesty law and a Democratic president signed into law the draconian 1996 immigration bill. Democratic leaders helped sideline immigration reform under Bush in 2006 and 2007, and it was "no" votes from Democrats that helped kill the Dream Act in 2010. Democrats endangered nearly 700,000 Dreamers by requiring them to turn themselves into authorities -- starting in 2012 -- to get Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Donald Trump is merely emulating President Obama, who deported record numbers of people, divided scores of families, and stuck refugee families in detention camps.

In reality, Democrats have never been there for Latinos. And now they're surprised that this group may not be there for them in the midterm elections?

The surprise is that Latinos have been fooled for so long. Now, it seems, more of them are waking up -- and refusing to stick up for a party that won't stick its neck out for them.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.