美国国家公共电台 NPR--Iowa voters will decide Sen. Chuck Grassley's fate in his closest race in 42 years

Iowa voters will decide Sen. Chuck Grassley's fate in his closest race in 42 years

Transcript¹

Voters in Iowa have already begun filling out their ballots² in the 2022 midterm elections. One of the choices they will make this year is whether to send Republican Chuck Grassley back for an eighth term in the U.S. Senate. National Democrats⁴ have mostly given up on Iowa, which was long seen as a competitive between the two major political parties. Grassley, though, is running in the closest race he has had since his first election to the Senate in 1980.

"This is my 99th county meeting I've had for the 42 year in a row," Grassley said to a round of applause from a friendly midday crowd in the rural southwest Iowa town of Bedford in late August.

Sen. Grassley likes to tout⁵ his annual tours of Iowa's 99 counties, which are a mix of public and private events that some say are hard for his critics to attend. Grassley has been reelected for decades to represent this state that many have long seen as purple.

"As things have gotten more polarized, so have people and so you should expect a lot of states that were purple to start to shift one direction," explained political science professor Megan Goldberg at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. "[Iowa] has the demographics that like to push us in the rightward direction, not the leftward."

Like so many places in the country, the Supreme⁶ Court's decision to overturn Roe⁷ v. Wade⁸ energized⁹ supporters of reproductive rights in Iowa. Democrats see Grassley's role on the Senate Judiciary Committee as a key player in that eventual¹⁰ ruling. Grassley blocked former President Obama's Supreme Court nominee¹¹ Merrick Garland ahead of the 2016 presidential election and then shuttled former President Trump¹²'s nominee of now-Justice Amy Coney Barrett through nomination¹³ hearings ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

A handful of protesters turn out almost every Friday in the small northeastern Iowa town of McGregor holding signs that say things like "Abortion¹⁴ is Healthcare" and "Women: Vote Like Your Life Depends on it... Because it Does."

"We're barreling towards 2024, which really seems like the last chance we have to stay a democracy," protester Erin Cubbon said. "It's scary."

Cubbon says it's hard to believe Iowa helped launch former Obama's rise to the White House and was among the first to legalize same-sex marriage. It's also the same state Sen. Grassley has been representing in Congress for nearly a half-century.

He has been reelected easily partly because he presents himself as a moderate. But the 89-year-old has learned to embrace Trump like Republican voters have in the state. Grassley accepted his endorsement¹⁵ at a Trump rally in Des Moines last year.

"I was born at night but not last night so if I didn't accept the endorsement of a person that's got 91% of Republican voters in Iowa," Grassley joked to thousands of cheering Trump supporters on the Iowa State Fairgrounds. "I wouldn't be that smart."

Republican support is not hard for Grassley to find. That means, though, that he's often facing questions about the legitimacy¹⁶ of the 2020 presidential election on the campaign trail. Typically, these questions come from voters concerned about the legitimacy of the 2020 election.

NPR asked Grassley recently why he pivots¹⁷ to talk about election policy instead of pushing back on Trump's false claim about a stolen election.

"I shouldn't have to repeat that. It's a fact that what I said on [December] the 14th, when the electoral votes were counted."

It's clear Grassley is an institution in Iowa but a new Des Moines Register Iowa poll suggests voters might be ready to move on even as this state becomes redder. Grassley is just 3 points ahead of his Democratic challenger, retired¹⁸ Navy Adm. Mike Franken.

In comparison, Iowa's Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds enjoyed a 17-point advantage over her Democratic challenger, Deirdre DeJear.

Franken is hoping to catapult that public opinion advantage in a reddening state into the U.S. Senate. He recognizes, though, it is an uphill climb.

"There's a portion of Iowa that will not vote for me because I'm a Democrat³, that will not change. I will hold office and I will support them to the best of my ability," Franken said. "That's completely different than the Republican perspective on this state, where it is support your own and to hell with the rest."

Many had written Franken's campaign off after a police report surfaced saying he kissed a former staffer without consent. National Democrats are not engaged in Iowa either. Grassley has the cash advantage but Franken raised twice as much money as Grassley in the last fundraising quarter. Franken is also hammering Grassley on abortion, hoping that will drive Iowans to the polls.

Megan Goldberg at Cornell College says Franken may have a very narrow path to victory.

"Where Republicans go in and they vote for Republicans, for governor, for the House of Representatives and they skip voting in the Senate race, because they're not interested in voting for Grassley," Goldberg said. "But they can't bring themselves to vote for a Democrat."

Expect Franken to highlight Grassley's extensive tenure¹⁹ in Washington in the last days on the campaign trail as he attempts the seemingly impossible task of unseating a titan of Iowa politics.

1 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。

2 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 tout   

v.推销，招徕；兜售；吹捧，劝诱

参考例句：

• They say it will let them tout progress in the war.他们称这将有助于鼓吹他们在战争中的成果。
• If your case studies just tout results,don't bother requiring registration to view them.如果你的案例研究只是吹捧结果，就别烦扰别人来注册访问了。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

8 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

9 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

10 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

11 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

12 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。

13 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

14 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

15 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。

16 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

17 pivots   

n.枢( pivot的名词复数 )；最重要的人（或事物）；中心；核心v.（似）在枢轴上转动( pivot的第三人称单数 )；把…放在枢轴上；以…为核心，围绕（主旨）展开

参考例句：

• The success of the project pivots on investment from abroad. 这个工程的成功主要依靠外来投资。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The novel pivots around a long conversation between two characters. 这部小说是以两个人物的对话为中心展开的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 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。

19 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。