2021年经济学人 特朗普一着不慎,共和党满盘皆输?(1)

United States

美国版块

Georgia’s run-off elections

佐治亚州决选

So sweet and clear

畅快且清晰

Two stunning¹ victories for Democrats³ in Georgia upend the Senate

民主党在佐治亚州取得的两次惊人的胜利颠覆了参议院

Four years ago, any pundit⁴ predicting that the solidly Republican state of Georgia would send two Democratic senators to Washington in 2020 would have been dismissed as a crank. Yet that was the outcome of two extraordinary run-off elections held on January 5th, which may set a new model for winning Democratic campaigns in the usually inhospitable South. The contests were also the costliest⁵ Senate races ever—more than $500m was spent on a deluge⁶ of advertising⁷ alone—because they will determine control of the Senate for the next two years.

在四年前，要是有任何权威预言预测坚定倾向共和党的佐治亚州会在2020年将两名民主党参议员推送到华盛顿，那人们将不予理会，还会觉得这样的预言十分古怪。而1月5日举行的两次非同寻常的决选结果却正是如此，这可能为民主党在通常不讨好的美国南部赢得竞选树立了一个新的模式。这两次竞选也是有史以来最昂贵的参议院竞选，仅广告费就高达5亿美元，因为这两次竞选将决定未来两年参议院的控制权。

Raphael Warnock, the first African- American ever to be elected to the Senate from the South, defeated Kelly Loeffler, the Republican incumbent⁸. The other Democrat², Jon Ossoff, defeated Senator David Perdue, meaning the Senate will be tied at 50-50, giving the vice-president-elect, Kamala Harris, the casting vote in the upper chamber⁹. Democrats will thus have secured the Washington trifecta of House, Senate and White House needed to pass legislation. For the incoming president, Joe Biden, this means a chance to convert at least some of his ambitious agenda from a pile of white papers into reality. For the outgoing president, Donald Trump¹⁰, it is a startling rebuke¹¹.

拉斐尔·沃诺克是有史以来首位担任南方参议员的非裔美国人，他击败了现任共和党参议员凯利·洛弗勒。另一位获胜的民主党人是乔恩·奥索夫，他击败了参议员大卫·珀杜，这意味着参议院的两党席位将是50比50，从而使当选副总统卡马拉·哈里斯获得参议院决定性的一票。因此，民主党人将获得通过立法所需的华盛顿三大利器——众议院、参议院和白宫。对于即将上任的美国当选总统乔·拜登来说，这意味着至少有机会将他雄心勃勃的议程从一堆白皮书变成现实。对于即将卸任的总统唐纳德·特朗普来说，这是一次惊人的指责。

Though the elections’ national ramifications¹² may take most headlines, the contests also reflect Georgia’s idiosyncrasies. The state is unique in requiring a head-to-head run-off if no candidate commands a majority in the general election. On November 3rd Mr Perdue secured a greater share of votes than did Mr Trump, who lost the state by a razor-thin margin¹³. The president has since been consumed with attempts to overturn that result through recounts, lawsuits¹⁴ and, most disturbingly, direct pressure on Georgia’s top elections officer to “find” the necessary votes to steal the election.

尽管参议院选举的全国性影响可能占据大多数头条新闻，但这两次竞选也反映了佐治亚州的特质。佐治亚州拥有独特的规定，即如果没有候选人在普选中获得多数票，该州就要求进行正面决选。11月3日，珀杜先生在参议院选举中获得更多选票，而特朗普在总统竞选中以微弱的劣势失去了佐治亚州。此后，总统一直在试图通过种种方式推翻选举结果，包括重新计票、诉讼，以及直接向佐治亚州最高选举官员施压，要求他们“找到”必要的选票来窃取选举这样最令人不安的途径。

Run-offs typically favour Republicans: they tend to be snoozy events that attract only the most committed voters (older, whiter and typically more conservative). That did not happen this time. Turnout was estimated to be 4.5m, or 89% of the recordsetting tally¹⁵ in November. It was high enough in the right places to suggest a Democratic finish ahead of Mr Biden’s.

决选通常有利于共和党人。决选往往很懒散，只会吸引最坚定的选民参与（年龄更大，白人居多，通常更保守）。但这次情况截然不同。据估计，投票人数为450万，占11月份竞选投票人数的89%，创下纪录。投票人数高到足以表明民主党在佐治亚州的竞选结果甚至要领先于拜登。

1 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 pundit   

n.博学之人；权威

参考例句：

• Even the outstanding excellent graduate will learn constantly if he likes to be a pundit.即使最优秀的结业生，要想成为一个博学的人也要不断地研究。
• He is a well known political pundit.他是一个著名的政治专家。

5 costliest   

adj.昂贵的( costly的最高级 )；代价高的；引起困难的；造成损失的

参考例句：

• At 81 billion dollars, Katrina is the costliest natural disaster in American history. “卡特里娜”飓风造成了近810亿美圆的损失，是美国历史上最严重的自然灾难之一。 来自互联网
• Senator John Kerry has proposed a tax on the costliest health plans sold by insurance companies. 参议员约翰？克里(JohnKerry)已经提议对保险公司销售的高价值的保险计划征税。 来自互联网

6 deluge   

n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥

参考例句：

• This little stream can become a deluge when it rains heavily.雨大的时候，这条小溪能变作洪流。
• I got caught in the deluge on the way home.我在回家的路上遇到倾盆大雨。

7 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

8 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

9 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

10 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

11 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

12 ramifications   

n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
• What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

14 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

15 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。