Castro can battle the media -- but he shouldn't try to do their job
SAN DIEGO -- Imagine being so convinced you have something valuable to say that you'll pay a fortune to say it.
That's where Julián Castro finds himself at the moment, as he tries to meet the fundraising threshold to qualify for the next Democratic debate. That matchup -- co-sponsored by The Washington Post and MSNBC -- will take place in the Atlanta area on Nov. 20.
Last week, the former secretary of housing and urban development warned supporters that, if he didn't raise another $800,000, he wouldn't qualify for the debate -- which would effectively end his campaign.
Still, $800,000 is a lot of cash to raise for a few scraps of airtime. In the last debate -- co-sponsored by CNN and The New York Times -- Castro spoke for just over eight minutes, even though the donnybrook lasted more than two hours.
As someone who has been friends with Castro for more than 15 years, I'm disappointed in how shabbily my pal has been treated. But I'm not surprised. Latinos are continually ignored, neglected and slighted by the Democratic Party. Why shouldn't we expect the first identifiable Latino presidential candidate to be ignored, neglected and slighted by a Democratic-controlled media?
If Castro manages to qualify for next month's debate, he could wind up with another eight minutes. That's $100,000 per minute.
For speaking up for the downtrodden, raising the touchy issues and churning out bold policy proposals, Castro deserves better. Take him out of the equation -- and out of the White House race -- and what you have left are mostly cowards, chameleons and con artists.
He is not the U.S. senator who hammers President Trump for his dishonesty -- but isn't honest about the cost of her health care plan.
He's not the white former vice president who recently lectured black people on how to parent -- and now scolds Trump for his racism.
He's not the Midwestern mayor who started this campaign on the far left -- and now has made his way to the center.
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