Promote and Publicize the Party's Agenda. An important aim of the minority leader is to develop an electorally attractive agenda of ideas and proposals that unites his or her own House members and that energizes and appeals to core electoral supporters as well as independents and swing voters. Despite the minority leader's restricted ability to set the House's agenda, there are still opportunities for him to raise minority priorities. For example, the minority leader may employ, or threaten to use, discharge petitions to try and bring minority priorities to the floor. If he or she is able to attract the required 218 signatures on a discharge petition by attracting majority party supporters, he or she can force minority initiatives to the floor over the opposition of the majority leadership. As a GOP minority leader once said, the challenges he confronted are to "keep our people together, and to look for votes on the other side."
How can a minority leader attempt to set some agenda for house?
may employ, or threaten to use, discharge petitions to try and bring minority priorities to the floor.