Julian Castro

I have nothing to say about the substance of this controversy around Julian Castro. And I don’t care that much who Hillary chooses as her VP. I will say however that it is completely ridiculous the kid gloves which the Democratic Party establishment has used with Castro for the last 5 years. If huge parts of the Democratic Party establishment are taking a line that “under no circumstances can Julian Castro be criticized because we need him too much,” then this is one the pathetic job of the Democratic Party to cultivate Latino candidates.

And you know what is revealing? None of the pushback on our criticism of Castro’s housing policy is saying anything about how or why the coalition of groups that signed this letter are wrong. His defenders are saying we should not criticize Julián Castro because he is Latino; that any criticism of him is wrong. In Joe Velasquez’s words, “an attack on him is an attack on the Latino community.” Well, the seven Latino members of Congress who co-signed that critical letter to Castro and Watt don’t think that. Latino blogger Markos Moulitsas doesn’t think so. Presente.org, the biggest Latino online organization in the country, doesn’t think so. The thousands of Latino leaders and members of the big community organizations Alliance of Californians and New York Communities for Change don’t think so.

Great Brown Hope politics is not exactly a useful strategy, especially when tied to a neophyte with few actual accomplishments.