Neera Tanden’s nomination to head OMB seems to be going down the drain largely because she tweeted more than a thousand sophomoric insults at Republican senators and House members, and even a few Democrats like Bernie Sanders. A groveling apology and scrubbing of the site can’t undo the damage. I can even sympathize with some of the names. Moscow Mitch! But invective and name-calling should be reserved for very special occasions or you lose as much dignity as the object of your indignation. Cheap insults by tweet will forever be associated with Donald Trump. The air is so much cleaner now that he, and they, are gone. There may have been better reasons to oppose Tanden’s nomination, but this death by a thousand tweets will be remembered as the one that did her in. Trump’s judgment was appalling in matters great and small. Tanden’s judgment was lousy when she got her hands on her Twitter account. She probably would have done fine at OMB.
But the damage is done, and she did it to herself. Biden and his team have more important uses of their political capital than to rescue Tanden’s nomination at all costs.
Physical Mail Could Be Eliminated at Federal Prisons A pilot program initiated under Trump converts mail to electronic scans. Biden hasn’t reversed it, and critics call it abusive and harmful to inmates and families. BY MARCIA BROWN & DAVID DAYEN
Remote Controlled Workers The pandemic has allowed companies to expand an old practice of spying on workers. That’s a problem for their privacy and their power. BY JAMIE K. McCALLUM
