Yesterday we dreamed up all the future career steps Miami Mayor Manny Diaz could take next. The most interesting was as Obama's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Today, The Washington Post's blog is the latest to put Diaz's name out as a possible contender for that job, but also seems to think he may be in the race for Secretary of Homeland Security, too -- or at least influential Latinos who have Obama's ear are trying to put him there.
We really can't think of many qualifications that would make Manny the best choice to serve as the first Homeland Security Czar under a Democratic President. Left wingers, like those over at Salon, have been a bit annoyed by what some call Miami's status as "a massive police state," under Diaz, for the police department's aggressive tactics dealing with protesters. Diaz called the controversial police reaction to picketers at the 2003 Free Trade Area of the Americas summit in Miami, "a model for homeland security."
And in fact the tactics have become known as "the Miami Model", characterized by "pre-emptive arrests, heavily armed, sometimes unidentifiable law enforcement, the collection of intelligence from protesters, and the "embedding" of corporate media with the police." Oh, and for being the worst nightmare of peaceful protesters everywhere.
Perhaps, Diaz would be better utilized in advising the new administration on making cities more green friendly and such. On Homeland Security issues Diaz doesn't have the cred to please the Republicans, but he does have enough connection to those controversial tactics to piss off the left. Lose-Lose.
