Online Public Relations Thoughts

This is an interesting if corrupted use of PR. In order to avoid a Congressional investigation into the previous administration's approval of waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods, the Republicans are pushing for an investigation of the Democratic Speaker of the House who had been briefed on the methods. The implied threat is if Democrats investigate, Republicans will force Democrats to investigate themselves. The result is not likely to be pretty because the Republicans will make sure that it isn't.

Tit-for-tat is fair in politics, but it is unlikely that any other sector of society would get away with it. Can you imagine a corporation telling a prosecutor that it will force an investigation into the judicial system, if the prosecutor comes after the company? It certainly wouldn't do that publicly, and it is unlikely it would dare do it at all. Washington DC is a world with a different set of rules, not all of them admirable.