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> It’s not like Mitch can singlehandedly control the whole senate.

He's Senate Majority Leader. That's literally exactly what he does.

Besides, he's whipped his party so hard they basically never break rank. Even Mitt "I'm not like the others" Romney votes with him nearly 100% of the time.

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His power as whip is not absolute. It's not like a parliamentary system where they are actual consequences for not voting the party line.

Take a look at any number of votes in the past year. There are plenty of Republicans who don't vote on party line (Republican and Democratic)

> It's not like [there] are actual consequences for not voting the party line.

There absolutely are, they just happen to be a side-channel in this particular system.

If you don't vote the party line then you get shown the door during your next election. They turn off the money spigot and nominations stop coming and they help your opponents (same party) get the R nomination. None of the current R senators have the backbone to go against that. Oh they say they will but when the day comes to vote, it's all just hot air.

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