华盛顿邮报 美举行最高法大法官就职确认听证会(2)

I think, last week, on Friday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sent a pretty strong signal that perhaps this wasn't one in which Republicans should really go all out because she was highly likely to be confirmed in the end.

我认为，上周，周五，参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔发出了一个非常强烈的信号，也许共和党人不应该真正全力以赴，因为她很有可能最终获得就职确认。

"Do Republicans want to kind of go to the mat in opposing a nominee¹ who would be the first Black woman Supreme² Court justice in the history of the court?"

“共和党人是否想要和一位可能成为最高法院历史上第一位黑人女性大法官的提名人进行激战?”

I think that certainly plays a role in this.

我认为这一考虑在其中起了一定作用。

If you look at shortly after we learned there would be a vacancy³ for the Supreme Court, when Justice Stephen Breyer announced he would be retiring,

如果你看看我们得知最高法院将有一个空缺后不久，当大法官斯蒂芬·布雷耶宣布他将退休时，

there was a lot of talk, especially among conservative pundits⁴ but even among some Republican members of the Judiciary Committee, about the idea that this was a quota⁵ pick or an affirmative action hire

有很多人议论纷纷，尤其是保守派专家，但即使是司法委员会的一些共和党成员，也认为这是一种配额选择或平权行动录用

because President Biden had said that he would nominate a Black woman to this job.

因为拜登总统说过，他将提名一名黑人女性担任这个职位。

And so I think there was a real question about how much Republicans would press forward with that charge.

所以我认为，真正的问题是，共和党人会在多大程度上推动这项指控。

Would they lift up Ketanji Brown Jackson as an affirmative action pick or a quota hire?

他们会把科坦吉·布朗·杰克逊提升为平权行动候选人还是配额录用人员？

We have seen very little evidence that they intend to press that case in the last day plus.

我们几乎没有看到他们打算在最后一天继续起诉的证据。

I think that's reflective of the fact that they're treading a little bit lightly around a nomination⁶ that won't flip⁷ the balance of power and is somewhat of a minefield when it comes to pushing back too hard against it.

我认为这反映了这样一个事实，即他们在一项不会改变权力平衡的提名上有点轻描淡写，当涉及到过于强硬地反击时，就有是雷区一样。

So tell me what we've seen so far about what Republicans are trying to do here.

那么，谈一谈到目前为止，共和党人此刻试图做什么。

What are the questions that they're asking, and how does that get to the strategy that they think will be helpful in this situation?

他们要问的问题是什么，这又如何得出他们认为在这种情况下有用的策略?

So I really see three themes emerging early in this confirmation⁸ process.

我确实观察到这个就职确认过程早期出现的三个主题。

One is the more standard-issue questions that you see from the likes of Senator Grassley, some of the more established members of Judiciary Committee.

一个是你从格拉斯利参议员这样的人身上看到的更标准的问题，格拉斯利参议员是司法委员会中一些更资深的成员。

Others you are seeing basically talking a lot about hearings that have been in the past, not necessarily this hearing.

你看到的其他人基本上都在谈论过去的听证会，不一定是这次的听证会。

They're talking about how Democrats⁹ allegedly mistreated Robert Bork, Clarence Thomas.

他们在谈论民主党人如何虐待罗伯特·博克、克拉伦斯·托马斯。

Brett Kavanaugh and also lower court, appeals court nominees¹⁰ like Janice Rogers Brown and Miguel Estrada.

布雷特·卡瓦诺，还有下级法院，上诉法院提名人珍妮丝·罗杰斯·布朗和米格尔·埃斯特拉达。

And then, most of the members of this committee remember the confirmation hearing of Brett Kavanaugh, one of the lowest moments in the history of this committee.

委员会的大多数成员都记得布雷特·卡瓦诺的就职确认听证会，这是委员会历史上最低谷的时刻之一。

1 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。

2 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。

3 vacancy   

n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺

参考例句：

• Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
• The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。

4 pundits   

n.某一学科的权威，专家( pundit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pundits disagree on the best way of dealing with the problem. 如何妥善处理这一问题，专家众说纷纭。 来自辞典例句
• That did not stop Chinese pundits from making a fuss over it. 这并没有阻止中国的博学之士对此大惊小怪。 来自互联网

5 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

6 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。

7 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

8 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

9 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》

10 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网