A Communication Tight Rope

Even if one does not follow politics at all, they would still have to be aware of all the talk these days about the impeachment investigation currently underway regarding President Trump. Rightly or wrongly, not only is it very much underway, it even seems to be picking up momentum with each passing day. My goal here with this entry is not to share my personal view of the merits of the investigation. Instead, my intent is to assess the efforts on both sides of this matter from a public relations perspective. Make no mistake, players on both sides of this debate are very much caught up in a public relations battle.

The primary objective of Trump's defenders and accusers is to rally as many supporters to their point of view as possible. Each recognizes that for their position to "win the day"in a manner where their own public reputation remains positive, they must do all they can to sway public opinion to their side. It is members of the public, after all, that ultimately will decree how pleased or not they were with their representative's performance in this entire proceeding. Part of that assessment, of course, will revolve around whether they agree with how the representative votes. Additionally, voters will also make known how they believe their representatives conducted themselves in this matter.

There are several challenges that each member of Congress is facing these days: determining whether President Trump does in fact, deserve to be impeached; assessing the opinions of the voters they have been elected to represent; properly making known the reasons behind their eventual decision on this issue; and maintaining open channels of communication with the voting public for the duration of the debate. This is an emotional matter, which means people are going to be upset regardless of how it ultimately plays-out. Such a reality points to the precarious tight rope that each elected member of Congress is currently walking. As voters, we should at least be mindful of the communication waters they are now seeking to navigate.