I am disappointed that no one has been able to answer my question. Are the leaders chosen by secret ballot or not? Is there anybody out there who can answer this question?
The real leadership positions are openly campaigned for and supporters are very public. They are not chosen by secret ballot, nor are they ever likely to be.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives :
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, which states in part, "The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker..." The current speaker is John Boehner, a Republican who represents Ohio's 8th congressional district. The Constitution does not require that the Speaker be an elected Member of Congress, but no non-member has ever been elected Speaker.[1]
The Speaker is second in the United States presidential line of succession, after the Vice President and before the President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate.[2] Unlike in some Westminster System parliaments, the Speaker is a leadership position in the majority party and actively works to set that party's legislative agenda, therefore endowing the office with considerable power. The Speaker does not usually personally preside over debates, instead delegating the duty to other members of Congress of the same political party.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_pro_tempore_of_the_United_States_Senate :
The President pro tempore (also President pro tem) is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate and the highest-ranking Senator. The United States Constitution states that the Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate and the highest-ranking official of the Senate even though he or she votes only in the case of a tie. During the Vice President's absence, the President pro tempore is the highest-ranking official in the Senate and may preside over its sessions. The President pro tempore is elected by the Senate and is customarily the most senior Senator in the majority party. Normally, neither the Vice President of the United States nor the President pro tempore presides; instead, the duty is generally delegated to the junior Senators of the majority party to help them learn parliamentary procedure.[4] The President pro tempore is third in the line of succession to the Presidency, after the Vice President of the United States and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.[5]
Following the death of Senator Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) on June 28, 2010, Daniel Inouye, senior Senator from Hawaii, was sworn in as President Pro Tempore.[6] By Senate tradition, the Democrat next in line to become President pro tempore after Inouye would be Patrick Leahy, senior Senator from Vermont, followed by Max Baucus, senior Senator from Montana. The senior members of the minority party are Republicans Dick Lugar, senior Senator from Indiana, and Orrin Hatch, senior Senator from Utah.
The President of the Senate is the Vice-President, so he is elected by a secret ballot of the people through the Electoral College.
The Speaker of the house is elected by an open vote of all the Representatives with it generally being a party line vote.
The speaker is not chosen by secret ballot. On the first day of a new congress, there is a vote for speaker and each house member shouts his choice. The two caucuses usually decide on who their nominee is ahead of time.
The president pro-tempore of the senate is usually the longest serving member of the majority party.
The majority and minority leaders, whips, etc. are chosen by their individual caucuses. Members choose to run for these offices and then try to get enough votes to win. I don’t know if it’s by secret ballot since these elections are always behind closed doors.
As far as I know, the majority and minority leaders choose the committee chairmen, but the members of the committee have a say in the matter.
Overall, very little (if any) legislative business is done by secret ballot.