SAN DIEGO — Democrats are in crisis because they lost their way, gave up their bite and muddled their identity. It couldn't have happened to a more deserving bunch.

The scoreboard doesn't tell the whole story. Low on points, Democrats appear to have been beaten. The truth is, they forfeited. They've been lazy, complacent, arrogant and too afraid to offend anyone.

Republicans are passionate about destroying institutions, terrorizing immigrants and undermining democracy on their way to making America white again. The only thing that Democrats are passionate about is finding sneaky and low-risk ways to keep their jobs.

As someone who has watched this game for more than 35 years, I can tell you that the crisis in which Democrats now find themselves is totally of their own making. It was always clear that the Democratic Party was going to find itself in this hole. Its fatal mistake came when it stopped fighting Republicans and started impersonating them.

Just so you know where I'm coming from, I don't wear a red cap. I'm a Never Trump'er who has slowly come around to what I once considered the far-fetched idea that the current administration is slouching toward fascism. Team Trump has no regard for the Constitution, the right to protest, free speech, due process, checks and balances, the rule of law, the federal judiciary or anything else that gets in the way of fulfilling its policy goals and political objectives.

Even so, at the moment, my feelings about Democrats fluctuate between disappointment and disgust. They're not the solution. They're half the problem.

Let me tell you a story. About 15 years ago, I was speaking to a Democratic group in North San Diego County. I was invited there to offer advice about how Democratic candidates could increase their appeal to Latino voters.

According to the NALEO Educational Fund, as of 2022, Latinos made up 36% of California's total eligible electorate (i.e., U.S. citizens who are at least 18 years old).

For most of these voters, the GOP brand is toxic. It has been this way since 1994, when Republicans aggressively pushed Proposition 187. The racist and spiteful ballot initiative was meant to punish the undocumented immigrants in the state that California employers — including homeowners — couldn't stop hiring.

Anyway, I speak to the group. And during the question and answer session, a middle-aged white man stood up and introduced himself as a Democratic candidate for Congress. He seized on what I had said in my remarks about how — in the vast majority of races — any Democrat could count on getting at least 60% of the Latino vote.

"That's good enough for me," the candidate said with a chuckle. "I'll just quit while I'm ahead."

I was shocked, and I don't shock easily. Rarely are politicians so honest. He was saying that he was more than content to not spend any time, money or attention on the Latino community and simply glide into that 60%. By the way, for what it's worth, the man didn't win his race.

These days, I think about that memory quite a bit. Democrats are getting a lot of free advice. Move to the center, says the editorial page of the New York Times. Go to the left, say supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

All this "go here, go there" talk is a waste of time. Democrats don't need branding. They need backbones.

What we could really use in America is an opposition party that is as serious about preserving this country as the Trump & Co. Demolition Team is about taking it down to the studs.

Let's stop kidding ourselves. Democrats are not that party. They care too much about how they're perceived. In case you haven't noticed, President Donald Trump's superpower is that he couldn't care less what anyone else thinks — about him, his administration or his priorities.

He has the numbers to prove it. In a recent Economist/YouGov survey, Trump's overall job approval rating is at a new low. Only 39% of Americans approve of his handling of the presidency, while 58% disapprove. Young voters give Trump especially low marks. Among 18- to 29-year-olds, just 20% approve of his performance in office.

You would expect Democrats to be in a strong position to take full advantage of Trump's weaknesses.

No such luck. The worst Republicans do, the more passive Democrats become — and the more irrelevant.

To find out more about Ruben Navarrette and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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