CNN 2012-07-07

 We will talk a bit in a moment about the politics of repealing¹ the Healthcare Acts as well as the tricky² but by no means impossible mechanics of it. 

 

First the tax penalty. Join us now Ari Fleischer, CNN political contributor and former White House press secretary for Gorge³ W. Bush. Also Bill Burton, senior strategist for the top Pro-Obama Super PAC and the senior legal analyst⁴ for CNN, Jeffrey Toobin.

Jeffrey, let me begin with you. It’s a pretty simple question, but it doesn’t seem to have a simple answer, tax or penalty?

 

Well, the Supreme⁵ Court John Roberts’ opinion said that this penalty, tax, whatever you want to call, this punishment, this payment, was justified⁶ under the taxing power of the constitution. That was why he approved the whole plan. That’s what he said what a bunch of politicians want to call it, that’s the fine we are having.

 

Alright, Fleischer to you then, why then is the senior adviser⁷ to Mitt⁸ Romney Eric Fehrnstrom say this is not a tax. It seems like things have been a little bit upside right now.

 

Well I check with the Romney campaign today, and I think the answer is actually very straightforward⁹. Mitt Romney has been consistent on this. In Massachusetts where they have a provision that was roughly similar to that, it was called a penalty. Now Massachusetts doesn’t have United States Supreme Court, which actually is a higher authority with the federal law is. So Mitt Romney has been consistent in calling it penalty just as he did in Massachusetts. President Obama, on the other hand, sold it to congress as penalty, and instructed his staff to go to the Supreme Court and called it a tax and a switch at the Supreme Court to say the legislation. And frankly¹⁰, actually if on the federal level, it is not a tax, it is not a law. It would have been struck down. So I think what we have here is the President really tried to have it both ways and succeeded.

 

So Bill Burton jump in on this if you would because regardless what the law actually says, there is a lot of talk out there, and sometime it sticks rightly or wrongly, and the word tax is toxic¹¹. 

 

Here is to be backup, take a look at this. Mitt Romney and President Obama have the exact same position on whether this is a penalty or tax, and when the American people are choosing between these two candidates when it comes down to this issue, there isn’t any difference. They read it as a penalty, and the people who would try to free load down the system and make all of us pay for their house insurance or to be penalized¹². And that was what President didn’t explain, and that’s just where this debate is. Now the fact is that there is a muddle¹³ of message and the Republican groups versus¹⁴ the Republic national committee versus what Romney and his campaigners said. I think that is a message confusion issue that they have on their side. Or when you just distill¹⁵ it down to, well, who this race is between, President Obama and Governor Romney, they are in the same place on this issue. 

 

Alright Fleischer, Bill Burton and Jeffrey Toobin, thanks of the review. 

1 repealing   

撤销，废除( repeal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• In addition, repealing the alternative minimum tax would also help. 此外，废除替代性最低税也会有所帮助。
• Repealing the investment tax credit. 取消投资税款扣除。

2 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

3 gorge   

n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃

参考例句：

• East of the gorge leveled out.峡谷东面地势变得平坦起来。
• It made my gorge rise to hear the news.这消息令我作呕。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 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。

6 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

7 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

8 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

9 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

10 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

11 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

12 penalized   

对…予以惩罚( penalize的过去式和过去分词 )； 使处于不利地位

参考例句：

• You will be penalized for poor spelling. 你拼写不好将会受到处罚。
• Team members will be penalized for lateness. 队员迟到要受处罚。

13 muddle   

n.困惑，混浊状态；vt.使混乱，使糊涂，使惊呆；vi.胡乱应付，混乱

参考例句：

• Everything in the room was in a muddle.房间里每一件东西都是乱七八糟的。
• Don't work in a rush and get into a muddle.克服忙乱现象。

14 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

15 distill   

vt.蒸馏，用蒸馏法提取，吸取，提炼

参考例句：

• This standard set determine the method of petroleum products distill.本标准规定了测定石油产品蒸馏的方法。
• Distill the crucial points of the book.从书中提炼出关键的几点。