After forty years in the minority, House Republicans promised to redress the imbalance between minority rights and majority rule in the House of Representatives after the 1994 elections. Opening the 104th Congress with a series of procedural reforms, House Republicans altered the standing rules to create several new rights for the minority party and promised to radically reduce the House's reliance on restrictive rules to manage floor debate. Within a month, however, Democrats – and Republican Chris Shays – charged that the Republicans had failed to live up to their promises, as strict time limits and other procedural tactics prevented both Democrats and moderate Republicans like Shays from securing debate and votes on favored amendments under open floor rules.

The change in party control of the House for the first time in forty years provides a fitting point for concluding a study of the politics of minority rights.