美国国家公共电台 NPR--What Biden's speech in Philadelphia means for the midterms

What Biden's speech in Philadelphia means for the midterms

Transcript¹

NPR's A Martinez talks to political strategists Dan Sena and Scott Jennings about President Biden's 'battle for the soul of the nation' message ahead of the midterm elections.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Labor² Day is often seen as the beginning of the fall election campaign. And President Biden travels to Milwaukee, then Pittsburgh, for holiday events - cities that happen to also be in key midterm states. The president set the stage early with a speech in Philadelphia last week describing the upcoming elections as a battle for the soul of the nation.

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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: There's no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven and intimidated³ by Donald Trump⁴ and the MAGA Republicans. And that is a threat to this country.

MART?NEZ: And former President Trump fired back over the weekend, slamming the tone of Biden's address at a campaign rally.

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DONALD TRUMP: The most vicious, hateful and divisive speech ever delivered by an American president.

MART?NEZ: OK. So how will Biden's warning about the threat to democracy impact the midterms? Scott Jennings is a public relations consultant⁵ who's worked on many Republican campaigns.

Scott, good morning.

SCOTT JENNINGS: Good morning.

MART?NEZ: And Dan Sena is the former head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and is now a media and campaign strategist.

Dan, you are the leadoff hitter. So why did President Biden spend so much time talking about Donald Trump when the former president isn't even on the ballot⁷ this year?

DAN SENA: Well, good morning and happy Labor Day. You know, I think the president's speech really established what I believe will ultimately be a choice for this coming election season, where the president really believes that the country and its democracy is at an inflection point. And standing⁸ up for democracy now seems to be a bit of a contrast issue heading into the 2022 elections.

MART?NEZ: Scott, should, then, Republican candidates be worried or concerned that Biden is trying to tie the party so closely to Donald Trump?

JENNINGS: Well, I think it's obvious that Biden wants this to be a referendum on Trump and not Biden because Biden's stuck in the low 40s, and 70% or 80% of the country thinks we're off on the wrong track. But I think Biden's words about Trump and the state of our democracy and the danger it faces rings a little hollow. On Thursday night, he gave his speech, and Friday morning, we were treated to the news that Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democrat⁶ leader, is plowing⁹ $3 million into the New Hampshire Senate primary, trying to get the most ultra-MAGA candidate the Republican nomination¹⁰ there. So to me, the Democrat Party is not putting its money where Joe Biden's mouth is, and that hollows out his message.

MART?NEZ: Well, I want to ask you then, Scott, about Alaska's House race. They have a ranked-choice voting system. And in that House race, only about half the people who voted for the so-called traditional Republican in that race made Sarah Palin their second choice. Palin was backed by President - former President Trump. Others went either Democrat or no candidate at all. So how might that foreshadow other House races?

JENNINGS: Well, most places don't have ranked-choice voting, so we won't run into that issue. I think Sarah Palin had a unique problem. She's Sarah Palin. She left Alaska. She resigned from the governorship. And I don't think she had much to offer the people of Alaska. So I'm not reading too much into that one because of Palin and the ranked-choice system. My main message to Republican candidates if you're worried about Sarah Palin is, be true to your state, and offer the general election voters something that everybody can grab on to, and not just a narrow message that seems to be self-interested.

MART?NEZ: So, Dan, on Scott's point, isn't there a risk that President Biden is taking when he warns that there's a threat to democracy while at the same time the Democratic Party is spending money to boost the profiles of Trump-endorsed candidates in primaries?

SENA: Well, look, I agree that I think our local candidates need to run localized races - pardon me - that really allow those local campaigns to draw a clear contrast in their state. And I think what the president was doing is really establishing more of a metanarrative that sort of sits in the backdrop and helps frame the national choice in this election and really allow the local voters and campaigns to have to make their own choice and run their own campaigns. I think it's smart (inaudible).

JENNINGS: May I respond to that for just a moment?..

MART?NEZ: Yeah. Go ahead, Scott. Go ahead.

JENNINGS: ...Because I think Joe Biden's message was clear. And I actually think it's important that our democracy is under assault from what he said was MAGA ideology¹¹. And then he tried to separate certain kinds of Republicans from others, saying, there are some I can work with and some that I can't. So then you go into a race like the New Hampshire Senate race or the Maryland governor's race or Pennsylvania or Colorado or Illinois or on and on and on. And you have the Democrat Party spending money to boost the people that Biden says are dangerous and to suppress the people, like Peter Meijer in Michigan, that he says he can work with. So it's the most cynical¹² and the most hypocritical for the president, in my opinion, to tell the American people how dangerous something is. I mean, look, the Democrat Party is spending more money on these MAGA candidates than Donald Trump is. So to me, it's cynical and hypocritical. And it does undercut the president's core message. And if you want it to be a referendum on that, then your party has to follow along what the president has to say, and they're not doing it.

MART?NEZ: And, Dan, isn't it asking for voters - a little too much for voters - to try and parse¹³ out who exactly the Democratic Party would like for them to support in terms of Republican candidates?

SENA: No. And I think - look, all politics are local. We've heard that for quite some time now. And it's a standard bearer in American politics. And, you know, I think, in many ways, the contrasts that will - voters will face in November, you know, are in some ways, you know, previewed in these primaries. And I think putting Democrats¹⁴ in a place where we ultimately have the clearest contrast going into November is smart strategy.

MART?NEZ: Scott, there have been a few Trump-endorsed candidates who have won GOP primaries after repeating the former president's false claims about the 2020 election. Doesn't Biden have at least a valid¹⁵ point, then, about democracy being in danger?

JENNINGS: Look, I think the election denialism is a dead end for the Republican Party. It's not what our party should be about. It's not what the clear winning message should be this November. And it's not going to serve the party well in 2024. Right now Republicans should choose people who are focused on inflation, the economy, the future of our country and so on and so forth¹⁶. But I was just going to return to my core point. If you believe that and you're a Republican, you should vote that way. And if you're a Democrat president named Joe Biden, you should tell your party to stop spending money on the people who are who are trying to spread this election denialism throughout our system.

MART?NEZ: Scott, let me squeeze in one more for Dan. Should he focus - Biden focus - on the economy instead of what he's doing?

SENA: Well, I think the president has the ability to focus on multiple issues, and we're at an inflection point in our country.

MART?NEZ: Dan Sena and Scott Jennings, political consultants¹⁷ from opposite sides of the aisle¹⁸.

Dan, Scott, thanks for joining us.

JENNINGS: Thank you.

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 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

6 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。

7 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

8 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。

9 plowing   

v.耕( plow的现在分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• "There are things more important now than plowing, Sugar. "如今有比耕种更重要的事情要做呀，宝贝儿。 来自飘（部分）
• Since his wife's death, he has been plowing a lonely furrow. 从他妻子死后，他一直过着孤独的生活。 来自辞典例句

10 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。

11 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

12 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

13 parse   

v.从语法上分析；n.从语法上分析

参考例句：

• I simply couldn't parse what you just said.我完全无法对你刚说的话作语法分析。
• It causes the parser to parse an NP.它调用分析程序分析一个名词短语。

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 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

16 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

17 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。

18 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。