Castro can battle the media -- but he shouldn't try to do their job

And he's not the former prosecutor who locked up black and brown men -- and now wants to pivot and become their champion.

In this crowd, Castro is the conscience. Even those who have endorsed other candidates say so.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. -- who has endorsed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders -- tweeted that Castro is "a powerful presence in this race." Ocasio-Cortez appreciates that the Texan "consistently uses his platform to uplift & center issues that are wrongly marginalized, like homelessness and police violence."

Castro -- who wanted to be a journalist before becoming a lawyer and entering politics -- spends a lot of time punching at the media. It's a necessary task, but it hasn't made him popular in the Fourth Estate.

That's how journalists roll. My tribe delights in telling people what to do and how to be better. But we bristle when someone does it to us. Also, even though we insist that you hear us, we're not the best listeners.

For my part, I don't like it when those who have never done my job proceed to tell me how to do my job. When you're a columnist -- or a football coach -- that happens a lot.

Since entering the race in January, Castro has repeatedly pointed out what the media does wrong. He's been spot-on. Like when he scolded reporters for questioning why he doesn't speak better Spanish, or pushed newspapers and networks to hire more Latino journalists. I applaud all that.

But then my friend took it a step too far. After the last debate, he went to Twitter to throw a jab at the moderators for not asking what he considered the right questions. There was nothing on immigration, homelessness or climate change, he noted. Then he tweeted: "But you know, Ellen." Castro was referring to an admittedly dumb question from CNN's Anderson Cooper that was related to the controversy over a photo of Ellen DeGeneres and George W. Bush.

Amigo, here's the deal. You're not wrong about that being a silly question. Yet you crossed a line. Politicians don't get to tell journalists what questions to ask, especially when they're applying for the most important job on the planet.

Castro is the best thing about this Democratic primary, and he needs to stay in the race. But he also needs to stay focused and remember who, and what, he is running against. Guess what? It's not the media.

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