Can I please ask a Stupid Foreigner Question about McCain?
> I’m sure Obama will have his favorite kneepad senator and favorite stalking horse political opponent from Arizona vetting them for him.
In New Zealand’s Parliamentary system, most parties have an officer called the Party Whip. Usually this is a mean guy, and his job is to enforce party discipline.
Does the GOP have something similar? If so, why isn’t this guy all over McCain? If he were a NZ politician, the Party Whip would be all over him like a bad rash.
We do, but once a Senator has a “seat for life” there’s not much that can be done.
LOL!
Besides, no one tells McCain what to do, except for his liberal associates and The One. He's a maverick, remember...LOL!
Because the GOP senators belong to the House of Lords. You don't whip GOP Lords. They are an entity to themselves. Many of them don't even answer to the serfs in their own fiefdoms. They run their domains independent of each other. Party discipline is for the Lower House. They are way above that.
Now, the Dem Lords are different. They don't HAVE to be whipped to fall into line. They have been trained in party discipline during all the years coming up through the ranks. They think in terms of the "group" rather than as individuals. If necessary, they have no compunctions about whipping other Dem Lords, even themselves, if it's for the greater good of their Shining Path Party or the state communes they represent.
All Lords are in office for 6 years and can do anything they want (hopefully discreetly like good bluebloods) because by the time election rolls around, all is forgiven and forgotten by the peasants. Therefore, they really don't worry too much about any "controlling legal authority" as they lead their lives of privilege in moated, oops, gated strongholds in Georgetown and McLean.
Or.....to answer your question more succinctly, controlling Republicans (even conservatives) is like herding cats.
Leni