Can someone give me majority leader/ speaker of the house/ whip 101?

[skipos]

How are they chosen? What are the differences?

Links or info would be great. Thanks!

[WI_DEM]

1. They are chosen by the Democratic caucus

whoever gets a majority wins those posts. As for links you could probably use goggle and find out what each job duty specifically is.

[TheWraith]

2. Certainly.

All three positions are elected from within the caucus of the majority party. Any member of the caucus can run. The Speaker of the House is the official head of the whole House, and presides over it. The Majority leader is the head specifically of the majority party, and represents just that group. The whip is next in line, and has the main job of running herd on the members of a party for the purpose of organizing their votes.

[Deb]

3. This link might help

http://www.congresslink.org/print_basics_leadershippositions.htm

[lyonn]

4. That site is helpful but have a question about the caucus

Who decides those in the caucus. I understand this is a small group?

[nealmhughes]

5. NO, all Democratic members are members of the Democratic Caucus.

There are other caucuses out there, and some are bipartisan, usually relating to regional matters or a specific interest.

The Speaker is a constitutional position and she/he presides over the entire House. She is next in line for the presidency after the VP.

The Democratic Leader is in charge of legislation schedules, when debate is set and for how long, etc, and the final language in the bills when they come out of committee.

The whips make sure that the members are "whipped in" or vote according to the Party's consensus on a bill.

Now, of course, individual amendments are introduced and usually need the leader to sanction them for floor time. If they do it on their own, it causes bad blood between the leadership and the member.

[lyonn]

6. Hey, Thanks

Now that is one Big caucus! That would be fun to watch.