美国国家公共电台 NPR--Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell defends Supreme Court on abortion

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell defends Supreme¹ Court on abortion²

Transcript³

McConnell defends the Supreme Court's chance of issuing rulings in conflict with a majority of Americans' views on abortion rights — telling NPR it's a feature of the system.

AMART?NEZ, HOST:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is navigating⁴ the politics of the recently leaked draft of the Supreme Court decision on abortion rights. It's thrown a spotlight⁵ on the deep partisan⁶ divide in American politics. But there is one area where the two parties are coming together, and that's helping⁷ Ukraine fight the Russians. NPR's Deirdre Walsh sat down with the Senate minority leader to discuss these issues in his office in the Capitol yesterday.

Deirdre, hello.

DEIRDRE WALSH, BYLINE⁸: Good morning.

MART?NEZ: Now, if this leaked opinion ends up becoming the final ruling, it would put the Supreme Court out of sync with most Americans who consistently in polling say they support some right to abortion access. What did Mitch McConnell have to say about that?

WALSH: He defended the conservative majority on the Supreme Court. And he said it wouldn't be the first time the court and the American public weren't in sync. He pointed⁹ to a case from 1989, when the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law banning the burning of the U.S. flag. The court held then that burning the flag was protected speech. Here's what McConnell said.

MITCH MCCONNELL: If you took public opinion polls on that issue, people would overwhelmingly support a legislative¹⁰ prohibition¹¹ of flag burning. But the Supreme Court interpreted that as a violation¹² of the First Amendment¹³, freedom of speech. So for the Supreme Court to - on any issue - to reach a decision contrary to public opinion is actually what the Supreme Court is about. It's to protect basic rights, even when majorities are in favor of something else. It happens all the time. So I don't think that's particularly unusual.

MART?NEZ: Now, Democrats¹⁴ are reworking their message going into the midterms to paint Republicans as out of step with voters on abortion rights. How did the senator respond to that?

WALSH: McConnell acknowledged that abortion is going to be an issue in many races, especially at the state level. But he really downplayed what he thought is going to happen in congressional races. Let's listen to McConnell again.

MCCONNELL: In terms of the politics of it, if, in fact, this becomes a final decision, I think it will be certainly heavily debated in state legislative and governor's races because the court will have, in effect, returned this issue to the political process. My guess is in terms of the impact on federal races, I think it's probably going to be a wash.

MART?NEZ: Now, on Ukraine, McConnell does agree with Democrats on the need to get more weapons and security to help this U.S. ally.

WALSH: He does. The Senate is expected to vote next week on a nearly $40 billion package in aid. McConnell gave the administration some credit about its handling of the situation. And here's McConnell talking about his conversation with President Biden about Ukraine.

MCCONNELL: For myself, I've been saying the victory - the goal ought to be victory from the beginning. They are now saying that. I think that's good. I think we're all in the same place. In fact, I called the president to suggest in the strongest possible fashion that we separate this issue out from the other discussions we're having with regard to the COVID package and Title 42 and all of that and move it quickly because the Ukrainians need it and because we have plenty of time to sort out the other issues. He called me back in 15 minutes, agreed, which I deeply appreciate it. And so we're all on the same team on this. The Russians need to lose. The Ukrainians need to win.

MART?NEZ: Call him back in 15 minutes - now, McConnell and Biden are on the same team on Ukraine right now. But there are some in the "America First" wing of the GOP that are not, right?

WALSH: I asked him about that. You know, all House Democrats voted for that aid package, but there were 57 House Republicans who voted no. McConnell made it clear he doesn't agree with them. Here's him talking about that group.

MCCONNELL: Well, on this issue, I don't agree with them. And we'll see how big a group that is. I think we're all acutely aware of Russian atrocities¹⁵. I think we - most Americans and most Republicans - believe that we ought to - that this is a clear example of right and wrong, of good and bad. And America and the democratic world is standing¹⁶ together, by and large, in opposition¹⁷ to this brutal¹⁸ and completely unwarranted invasion.

MART?NEZ: NPR's Deirdre Walsh, thanks a lot.

WALSH: Thank you.

MART?NEZ: And for more of the interview with Senator McConnell, tune¹⁹ in to the NPR Politics Podcast.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

5 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

6 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 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。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

11 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

12 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

13 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

14 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》

15 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

17 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

18 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

19 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。