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.

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.