Lisa L. Miller
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195331684
- eISBN:
- 9780199867967
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331684.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
The primary focus of this chapter is the relationship between group interests and the legislative policy process in Pennsylvania. In striking similarity to the situation in Congress, criminal justice ...
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The primary focus of this chapter is the relationship between group interests and the legislative policy process in Pennsylvania. In striking similarity to the situation in Congress, criminal justice agencies and a few prolific groups representing professional and single-issue citizen interests generally dominate. The citizen groups that appear are ones that specialize in the crime issue du jour—guns, sex offenses, crimes against children, or the death penalty. The share of hearings that includes citizen groups has increased, but a closer examination reveals that this is due to a dramatic increase in single-issue groups and a decline in groups with more diffuse interests. This picture of legislative crime hearings is confirmed by extensive interviews with state legislators, whose contact with citizen organizations is limited to a handful of high-profile, single-issue, and civil liberties groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and several statewide women's organizations. The ubiquity of prosecutors, law enforcement, and single-issue groups focused on women, children, and civil liberties leaves a glaring hole in policy debates about crime: the omission of the interests of the poor and urban minorities, many of whom face serious crime on a regular basis. This chapter also discusses the limitations of the American Civil Liberties Union as a group representing the broad interests of citizens at risk of crime and violence.Less
The primary focus of this chapter is the relationship between group interests and the legislative policy process in Pennsylvania. In striking similarity to the situation in Congress, criminal justice agencies and a few prolific groups representing professional and single-issue citizen interests generally dominate. The citizen groups that appear are ones that specialize in the crime issue du jour—guns, sex offenses, crimes against children, or the death penalty. The share of hearings that includes citizen groups has increased, but a closer examination reveals that this is due to a dramatic increase in single-issue groups and a decline in groups with more diffuse interests. This picture of legislative crime hearings is confirmed by extensive interviews with state legislators, whose contact with citizen organizations is limited to a handful of high-profile, single-issue, and civil liberties groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and several statewide women's organizations. The ubiquity of prosecutors, law enforcement, and single-issue groups focused on women, children, and civil liberties leaves a glaring hole in policy debates about crime: the omission of the interests of the poor and urban minorities, many of whom face serious crime on a regular basis. This chapter also discusses the limitations of the American Civil Liberties Union as a group representing the broad interests of citizens at risk of crime and violence.
Russell J. Dalton
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199268436
- eISBN:
- 9780191708572
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199268436.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter examines whether a growing ideological gap between citizens and their government is a significant source of decreasing trust in government. There is a perception that governments are ...
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This chapter examines whether a growing ideological gap between citizens and their government is a significant source of decreasing trust in government. There is a perception that governments are becoming more distant from the policy preferences of individual citizens. New incumbents are elected, but in a few years dissatisfaction with their performance increases, almost regardless of their policy record. The chapter argues that the increased fragmentation of policy making, the rise of single issue groups are a source of this dissatisfaction. Governing in a complex world means that no party program can make most people happy most of the time.Less
This chapter examines whether a growing ideological gap between citizens and their government is a significant source of decreasing trust in government. There is a perception that governments are becoming more distant from the policy preferences of individual citizens. New incumbents are elected, but in a few years dissatisfaction with their performance increases, almost regardless of their policy record. The chapter argues that the increased fragmentation of policy making, the rise of single issue groups are a source of this dissatisfaction. Governing in a complex world means that no party program can make most people happy most of the time.
