美国国家公共电台 NPR--In Montana House race, Ryan Zinke struggles to shake off Trump-era scandals

In Montana House race, Ryan Zinke struggles to shake off Trump¹-era scandals

Transcript²

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Montana is 1 of 6 states adding seats in the U.S. House of Representatives this year due to population growth. More voters there identify as Republicans than Democrats⁴, but the GOP candidate in this race has to live down scandals he faced during the Trump administration in order to win. Here's Montana Public Radio's Shaylee Ragar.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: You know him, you've known him, you've trusted him - Commander Ryan Zinke.

(APPLAUSE)

SHAYLEE RAGAR, BYLINE⁵: At a campaign rally outside Bozeman this summer, Ryan Zinke, a retired⁶ Navy SEAL, painted himself as a patriotic⁷ champion of conservative priorities, like restricting immigration, amping up energy production and cutting taxes.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RYAN ZINKE: What are we going to do? We're not going to give them the flag. We're not going to give them the Constitution. We're going to fight.

RAGAR: Zinke previously⁸ won two races to represent Montana in the U.S. House but left his last term early when former President Donald Trump tapped him to lead the Interior Department in 2017. But he quit Interior early, too, in the wake of 18 ethics⁹ investigations¹⁰. This year, the Interior Department's inspector¹¹ general, a Trump appointee, released two reports that concluded Zinke lied to investigators¹² on multiple occasions and used his office to advance a project of personal interest in Montana. Zinke brushes the investigations off as politically motivated.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ZINKE: When you want to get things done in Washington, D.C., and you actually want to push back against the bureaucracy, what we call the swamp, they don't like it. And that's exactly what happened.

RAGAR: But there's evidence that Montana voters might not be buying that. Zinke only won the Republican primary here by a razor-thin margin¹³. Jessi Bennion teaches political science at Montana State University.

JESSI BENNION: The close results of the primary probably made him kick it into higher gear on the campaign trail.

RAGAR: Election analysts¹⁴ with Roll Call initially¹⁵ dubbed¹⁶ this race likely Republican but recently updated it to leans Republican, meaning more competitive. Zinke's Democratic opponent is Monica Tranel, an attorney who's worked on energy and agriculture issues in Montana for more than 20 years.

MONICA TRANEL: I've been here. I've been on the ground, in the trenches¹⁷ with you, by your side, in our communities, showing up.

RAGAR: Montana hasn't elected a Democrat³ to the U.S. House since 1994. And Zinke has raised more than twice as much for the race. But Tranel is winning endorsements¹⁹ from prominent Republicans, including a former governor, secretary of state and the former chair of the state GOP. And there's a Libertarian candidate in the race who could spell trouble for Zinke, says Montana State's Jessi Bennion.

BENNION: Even if he got a few percentage points, that - in a close race, if Tranel is gaining traction²⁰, that can produce upsets. We've seen that.

RAGAR: For Zinke to win, he's going to need Republican voters to stay loyal. Like Gerald Ryder, a retired National Park Service employee who was at the Bozeman rally.

GERALD RYDER: Ryan Zinke, as far as I am concerned, you know, he's a hero for Montana, you know? I mean, he served the country. He did it honorably. There are hundreds of people trying to paint him in a different color. And I don't believe that.

RAGAR: Zinke has Trump's endorsement¹⁸. The former president won Montana by 16 points in the last election. This race is another test of Trump's political influence across the country.

For NPR News, I'm Shaylee Ragar in Helena, Mont.

1 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。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 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。

4 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》

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

8 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

9 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

10 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

11 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

12 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 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 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

15 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

16 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

18 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

19 endorsements   

n.背书( endorsement的名词复数 )；（驾驶执照上的）违章记录；（公开的）赞同；（通常为名人在广告中对某一产品的）宣传

参考例句：

• He must make much money on those tennis shoe endorsements he does. 他替那些网球鞋珍重广告，就赚了不少钱。 来自互联网
• But celebrity endorsements remain an important promotional tool for marketers. 尽管如此，邀明星助阵仍是营销人员重要的推广手段之一。 来自互联网

20 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。