Reply #22: People who have administrative jobs in the Senate, like Whip, Leader, etc. [View All]

[MADem]

are VOTED IN BY THEIR PEERS.

If "the Executive Branch" doled out those favors, Zell Miller would have stayed in the Senate to be Majority Leader.

It's not a consolation prize, handed out as a little pat on the head.

It's earned by the person with the best talent at uniting diverse interests, who has expressed an interest in the job, who has campaigned amongst his or her peers for the position, who has worked his or her way up the "administrative leadership" ladder, and it is only so done after a VOTE.

Why do you think Murtha didn't get the whip job? Because he has NEVER, in all his years in the House, done one frigging administrative thing--not even dinky shit, like making arrangements for the Xmas party catering.

You have to work that shit, volunteer to help the leadership, work your way up, and convince your peers to vote for you. You RUN for the job. It's not a gift.

And it's a hell of a lot of work too. Much of it thankless. About the only advantage is you get a few more staffers for your trouble.

It never ceases to amaze me how the way our system works is such a mystery to so many. When Pelosi and Hoyer were elected, that was well covered in the papers.