经济学人122:政治会议,发动群众

 　　Political conferences

　　政治会议

　　Revving¹ up the bases

　　发动群众

　　Auditions² down south and tactical debates up north, as activists³ on both sides plot a course for the coming election

　　南部轮流试镜，北部战术辩论，两边的积极分子都在为即将到来的选举设定路线图

　　Fired up, ready to blog

　　一气呵成，准备贴出

　　A DEMOCRAT⁴ sits in the Oval Office, preparing to run for re-election. Barack Obama is a formidable campaigner and fund-raiser. In 2008 his campaign raised a record $745m; this time his haul may exceed $1 billion. Gearing up to oppose him are a squabbling bunch of Republicans, united in relative obscurity save for the front-runner, Mitt⁵ Romney. By rights the left-leaning Netroots Nation gathering⁶ should have been jubilant, and the Republican Leadership Conference (RLC) doleful and panicky.

　　一位民主党人坐镇椭圆办公室，准备竞选连任。巴拉克?奥巴马是一个可畏的活动家和筹款人。2008年，他的竞选活动筹集到创纪录的7.45亿美元；而这次，这一数字可能超过10亿美元。准备迎战的是一群内讧的共和党人，暂时以隐约的领跑者米特?罗姆尼（Mitt Romney）为首。按理说，这时左倾的草根网民大会（Netroots Nation）应该喜气洋洋，而共和党领袖大会（Republican Leadership Conference，RLC）则愁闷惊慌。

　　But that would overlook the left’s capacity to rain on its own parade. Despite the big Democratic reforms of the past few years, the left—or at least the roughly 2,400 lefty bloggers who attended Netroots Nation—often sees the Obama administration as hesitant and incrementalist. Joan McCarter, who moderated a panel called “What to Do When the President is Just Not That Into You” (the title comes from a popular romance/self-help book), said that Mr Obama has been “not necessarily as progressive as we hoped he would be”.

　　然而这种想法忽视了左派的内部分歧。尽管民主党在过去几年进行了重大改革，但左派（或至少参加草根网民大会的近2400名左派博主）常常认为奥巴马政府不够果决，是渐进主义者。琼?麦卡特（Joan McCarter），一个名为“当总统其实没那么在乎你时该做什么”（What to Do When the President is Just Not That Into You，标题来自一本流行浪漫/励志图书）的座谈小组的主持者，表示奥巴马先生“没有我们所希望的那么进步”。

　　But progressives may also have been more docile⁷ than Mr Obama had reason to expect, and a running question at the conference was whether activists should defend or put pressure on the president. Recommending pressure was Dan Choi, a former army linguist⁸ who was discharged in 2010 after coming out as gay. He had become the country’s most prominent advocate for a repeal⁹ of the military “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, and that same year was arrested after handcuffing himself to the White House fence. “We were drama queens, and we were damn proud of it, and our message was, ‘We’re going to get crazier’,” Mr Choi explained. The policy was repealed¹⁰ some months later, although the repeal has not yet been implemented¹¹.

　　然而进步分子（progressive）的失望可能还不是奥巴马先生最该担心的。大会上一个被重复提到的问题就是积极分子是否应维护总统还是向其加压。提倡加压的是丹?崔（Dan Choi），一个前军方语言学家，在同性恋身份曝光后于2010年遭解雇，随后成为军队“不要问，不要说”（Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell）政策废除运动全国最知名的倡导者，并于同年在将自己铐于白宫栅栏后遭逮捕。崔先生解释说，“我们是挑刺者，我们也确实因此而自豪，我们的口号是‘让我们更疯狂一点’”。“不要问，不要说”政策虽于数月之后被废除，但废除令至今仍未得到真正落实。

　　Defenders¹² of the more cautious approach—and there were many—may be motivated less by love than by fear. Mr Obama may not be perfect, but even gloomy progressives realise he is better than the alternative. “Imagine the enforcement and regulating of the Affordable¹³ Care Act under President Rick Perry,” cautioned Eve Gittelson, a blogger from New York, at a panel on health reform.

　　主张谨慎对待的维护者（有很多）其考虑也更多出于担忧而非对总统的爱护。奥巴马先生可能并不完美，但是即使最失望的进步分子也明白他是目前最好的人选。“设想一下如果里克?裴瑞（Rick Perry）当总统平价医疗法案（Affordable Care Act）能被执行和落实吗？”一位来自纽约的博主伊娃?基特森（Eve Gittelson）在一个有关医改的座谈小组上提醒到。

　　As it happened, among the Republicans so imagining at the RLC in New Orleans was Mr Perry himself, in his third full term as governor of Texas and mulling over a presidential run. He warned that while states may face financial trouble now, “they’re going to pale in comparison to what we’ll see in 2014 when that runaway¹⁴ train known as Obamacare hits our budgets.” Mr Perry was one of eight potential candidates to speak at the conference. Neither Mr Romney nor Tim Pawlenty attended, and Jon Huntsman cancelled his appearance at the last minute. He and Ron Paul, standard-bearer for the party’s libertarian wing, were the most rapturously received: Mr Perry left the stage to chants of “Run, Rick, run!”, while Mr Paul won the conference’s straw poll by a hefty margin¹⁵.

　　与此同时，在新奥尔良的共和党领袖大会上也有许多共和党人在做同样的设想，其中就有裴瑞先生本人——尚在德克萨斯州州长第三任期之内，正酝酿参加总统竞选。他警告说目前各州所面临的财政危机“到了2014年将会相形见绌，那时所谓奥巴马医改的脱缰野马将把我们的预算冲得稀烂。” 裴瑞先生是做大会发言的8名可能候选人之一。罗姆尼先生和蒂姆?帕伦蒂(Tim Pawlenty)都没有参加，洪博培（Jon Huntsman）也于最后时刻取消出席。裴瑞先生和共和党自由派旗手荣?保罗（Ron Paul）受到最热烈的欢迎：裴瑞先生在现场观众有节奏的“跑起来，里克，跑起来！”（Run, Rick, run!”）的加油声中退场，而保罗先生则以显著优势赢得大会的民意测验。

　　Such victories are nothing new for Mr Paul, whose supporters are passionate¹⁶ and flock to such party conferences, and he is no more likely to translate them into broader electoral victory this year than he has been in the past. Mr Perry, however, might prove a formidable candidate. He has the executive experience of Messrs Romney and Huntsman but lacks their political baggage—Mr Romney’s health-care reform, Mr Huntsman’s service to Mr Obama as an ambassador—and their Mormonism, which is still suspect to many Christian¹⁷ conservatives. He has tea-party credibility, but boasts a far longer and more impressive track record than Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain or Rick Santorum. In a weak and divided field—it is hard to imagine a supporter of Mr Paul succumbing¹⁸ to Mr Santorum’s religiosity, or a fan of Mr Romney’s country-club Republicanism finding much to like in Mrs Bachmann’s pitchfork populism—room exists for an all-things-to-all-men candidate such as Mr Perry.

　　这样的胜利对于保罗先生并不陌生，他的支持者热情高涨，总是成群地涌到这样的党派大会，但是如同过去一样，他今年也不大可能将这样的小胜利转换为更大的选举胜利。然而裴瑞先生却可能是一个强劲的候选人。他有着罗姆尼和洪博培两位先生的行政经验，但却没有他们的政治包袱——罗姆尼先生赞成医疗改革，而洪博培曾作为大使服务于奥巴马政府，此外对于他们的摩门教徒身份许多基督教保守主义者仍心存疑虑。裴瑞先生有着茶党的代表力，又要比米歇尔?巴克曼（Michele Bachmann）、赫尔曼?凯恩（Herman Cain）和里克?圣多伦（Rick Santorum）有着更长期和更能打动人的历史记录。在一个脆弱和分裂的阵营里——很难想象保罗先生的支持者会力挺圣多伦先生，或者罗姆尼先生乡村俱乐部共和主义的粉丝会看好巴克曼女士的干草叉民粹主义（pitchfork populism），像裴瑞先生这样四面讨好的候选人有着很大的机会。

　　Democrats¹⁹ should take no comfort from that divided field. In 2008 John McCain had the Republican nomination²⁰ sealed by mid-February, while the battle between Mr Obama and Hillary Clinton dragged into June. Egos²¹ were bruised²², but the base was motivated for the general election. Sometimes, true love waits.

　　民主党不应为对手的分裂而窃喜。2008年，约翰?麦凯恩（John McCain）早在2月中旬就锁定了共和党提名资格，而奥巴马先生与希拉里?克林顿（Hillary Clinton）之间的苦战却一直持续到6月份。整个过程中候选人个人虽然很受伤，但是群众却为后来的大选而充分动员起来了。有些时候，真爱需要等待。

1 revving   

v.（使）加速( rev的现在分词 )；（数量、活动等）激增；（使发动机）快速旋转；（使）活跃起来

参考例句：

• The team are revving up for next week's game. 这个队伍对下周的比赛跃跃欲试。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Since the introduction of new techniques, the production has been revving up. 自从新技术的引进，产量一直都在增加。 来自互联网

2 auditions   

n.（对拟做演员、歌手、乐师等人的）试听，试音( audition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Find modeling auditions, casting calls& acting auditions, all in one place. 找一个立体感试听，铸造呼叫和表演试听一体的地方。 来自互联网
• We are now about to start auditions to find a touring guitarist. 我们现在准备找一个新的吉他手。 来自互联网

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 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。

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

7 docile   

adj.驯服的，易控制的，容易教的

参考例句：

• Circus monkeys are trained to be very docile and obedient.马戏团的猴子训练得服服贴贴的。
• He is a docile and well-behaved child.他是个温顺且彬彬有礼的孩子。

8 linguist   

n.语言学家；精通数种外国语言者

参考例句：

• I used to be a linguist till I become a writer.过去我是个语言学家，后来成了作家。
• Professor Cui has a high reputation as a linguist.崔教授作为语言学家名声很高。

9 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

10 repealed   

撤销，废除( repeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Labour Party repealed the Act. 工党废除了那项法令。
• The legislature repealed the unpopular Rent Act. 立法机关废除了不得人心的租借法案。

11 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

12 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

14 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

15 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

16 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

17 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

18 succumbing   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的现在分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• Mrs. Smith washed and ironed clothes for him, succumbing to him. 史密斯太太被他迷住了，愿意为他洗衣烫衣。
• They would not in the end abandon their vital interests by succumbing to Soviet blandishment. 他们最终决不会受苏联人的甜言蜜语的诱惑，从而抛弃自己的切身利益。

19 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》

20 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。

21 egos   

自我，自尊，自负( ego的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their egos are so easily bruised. 他们的自尊心很容易受到伤害。
• The belief in it issues from the puerile egos of inferior men. 这种信仰是下等人幼稚的自私意识中产生的。

22 bruised   

[医]青肿的，瘀紫的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。