美国国家公共电台 NPR Cory Booker Promises To Bring America Together. But How?

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker says he wants to unite a divided nation.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CORY BOOKER: I love rugged¹ individualism and self-reliance. But rugged individualism didn't get us to the moon. It didn't beat the Nazis² or Jim Crow.

INSKEEP: He says collective action did. Booker is a senator from New Jersey³. He's centered his presidential campaign on unity⁴ and love. He's the former Democratic mayor of Newark, N.J., who collaborated⁵ with former Republican Governor Chris Christie. His presidential announcement video was filled with diverse Americans drumming and playing in marching bands.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BOOKER: In America, we have a common pain. But what we're lacking is a sense of common purpose.

INSKEEP: OK. But many politicians say things like that. Who does Booker mean to bring together, and how? We asked when he came by our studios accompanied by a single aide. It is the first of our Opening Arguments - talks with prominent declared presidential contenders.

BOOKER: It wasn't Strom Thurmond that ran to the Senate floor and said one day, it's time for those negro people to have some rights. No, it was blacks and whites, Christians⁷ and Jews, Democrats⁸ and Republicans who joined in uncommon⁹ coalitions¹¹ of conscience to deal with injustice¹².

INSKEEP: So is it not exactly a progressive coalition¹⁰? It's a coalition of conscience is the phrase that you just used.

BOOKER: You know, these labels that we slap on each other and then dismiss each other because we're - have different labels aren't helping¹³ our republic. And I'd like to start talking about shared values and shared ideals.

INSKEEP: Let me throw a hypothetical voter at you. And I've interviewed voters very much like what I'm going to describe - blue-collar guy, Lordstown, Ohio, just lost his job at a GM plant that is closing, voted once for President Obama but also found President Trump¹⁴ attractive, voted for him once, thinking about it again. Is that guy in your coalition?

BOOKER: That guy needs to - we need to speak to his pain. Our politics need to speak to his pain and be able to address the real concerns he has at the kitchen table. I went out to the Midwest, to the heartland and met with Republicans in Missouri, in Kansas and Nebraska on farms. And one of those families didn't even want me in their home when they researched me on their part of the Internet. They called the person I was - who was showing me around and said, hey. We're a Christian⁶ family. We can't have Cory Booker in our home.

INSKEEP: What made you unpalatable to a Christian family so described?

BOOKER: Whatever they were told by their trusted media - and we all have it. But the friend asked him to come - for me to go see him. I met him at his door. Then we went into his home and found so much common ground because we both agree that the corporate¹⁵ consolidation¹⁶ is killing¹⁷ the independent American family farmer.

INSKEEP: We should note that plenty of Republicans in the Senate have indicated that they like you. But what happens if it's 2021, you've been elected president the United States? Like President Obama, you try to transcend¹⁸ partisanship¹⁹. But the political calculation of the moment for Republicans is they need to oppose you on everything. That's the only way they get back in power.

BOOKER: You know, look. If I was going to surrender to cynicism about our nation in that way - I think cynicism is a toxic²⁰ spiritual state.

INSKEEP: But I mean, it happened once. What do you do when it happens again?

BOOKER: Yeah. I went to Newark, N.J., at a time that people were so disrespecting, disregarding that city. I mean, it was literally²¹ being made fun of by late-night talk show hosts. And people told me, oh, we've tried these things before. It doesn't work. And we got incredibly creative. And at times, I reached out to conservatives I could find coalitions with - Christian evangelicals - not on everything. But I found common ground. And we got things done.

If you go to Newark, N.J., right now, we've gone through our biggest economic development period in 60 years. We have - our schools were just shown to be the No. 1 beat-the-odds school system in America - high poverty, high performance. This is an election. We have a chance to have a revival²² of civic²³ grace. And we need leaders that are going to be committed to those ideals and dealing²⁴ with the cause of injustice in our country.

INSKEEP: Suppose you win the election. Democrats win the Senate. It's a really good 2020 for Democrats. You go out there and push for "Medicare-for-all" - goes to the United States Senate and Republicans feel it's socialism and filibuster²⁵ it. Do you, at that point, urge Democrats to get rid of the filibuster?

BOOKER: No. I've heard some good arguments since February when people started getting into my face about, we've got to get rid of the filibuster. People on the left feel very strongly about it. I'm willing to listen to more arguments. But we need to understand that there's good reason to have a Senate where we're forced to find pragmatic, bipartisan solutions. Let's be a country that operates from that sense of common purpose.

INSKEEP: President Bush tried to bring together a consensus²⁶ on immigration - couldn't get it done. President Obama tried to bring together a consensus on immigration, couldn't get that done, eventually took executive action. President Trump had a very different agenda for immigration, couldn't get his program done either and has just taken executive action. If you're in that same situation as the last three presidents, facing the problems with immigration right now, do you take executive action?

BOOKER: You do what you can on the powers of the presidency²⁷ allow, and I will do a lot of that. I mean, what's happening with DACA kids - deferred²⁸ action children, the DREAMers, as they're called, is - violates the values of people on both sides of the aisle²⁹. You have President Trump, even rhetorically, saying he supports those children. You do everything you can to affirm the values of our country. And what you don't do is what we see coming from the presidency, which is rank racist³¹ rhetoric³⁰.

INSKEEP: Was President Obama's move to, effectively, legalize, for two-year periods, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals people - was that constitutional?

BOOKER: I believe it was constitutional. I believe it was not just constitutional. It reflects common sense.

INSKEEP: Meaning that if you're president and it hasn't been taken care of yet, you might just flip³² it right back the way Obama had it.

BOOKER: I will do everything I can to ensure that DACA children, that DREAMers, who are Americans in every way except for a piece of paper - I had a DACA kid that came with me to the State of the Union address a year or two back. She'd started an Internet platform that helped to give employment opportunities to hundreds of people. We're going to deport³³ her. When there's an injustice, people have to understand that often, the opposite of injustice is silence and indifference³⁴ and apathy³⁵.

INSKEEP: Is Silicon³⁶ Valley - the firms there, where you have lots of connections. You went to Stanford, which is nearby. Is Silicon Valley part of the coalition you want to bring together behind you?

BOOKER: You know, we need to bring this nation together. It doesn't mean we forgive what I call bad actions or bad actors. We need to make sure that whether it's Silicon Valley or the pharma industry or the big ag, we need to hold people accountable for their actions.

INSKEEP: Recode, which looks into tech stuff, wrote a long article about you. And they dug up a tweet from 2009. And you, apparently³⁷, had had an exciting day in Silicon Valley. Quote, "from green tech to social media, inspiring meetings today. Incredible Silicon Valley leaders who are literally changing, empowering the world." Do you think that's still true?

BOOKER: I mean, I don't know. We're sitting in front of each other, so I'm about to pull out...

INSKEEP: Looks like an iPhone.

BOOKER: It looks like an iPhone. And, you know, there's a democratization that's going on that technology allows. I've used it in Newark. Let's use just one platform, which is to help people get access to capital. There's so much good that is coming from technology and innovation. At the same time, though, as I lift my phone up again in front of you, do I want one of the big tech firms to be taking my data from me and doing things that are violative of my values?

These are things that are wrong. And so why do we need to universally condemn³⁸ entire sectors³⁹ of our society as opposed to talking about what's happening within them that is in violation⁴⁰ of our values and creating regulations and rules that make sure that they are affirming what's in the best interest of our country?

INSKEEP: Senator Booker, thanks so much for coming by.

BOOKER: I appreciate you. Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF MARCUS MILLER'S "7-T'S")

1 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

2 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

5 collaborated   

合作( collaborate的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• We have collaborated on many projects over the years. 这些年来我们合作搞了许多项目。
• We have collaborated closely with the university on this project. 我们与大学在这个专案上紧密合作。

6 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。

7 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

8 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》

9 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

10 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

11 coalitions   

结合体，同盟( coalition的名词复数 )； （两党或多党）联合政府

参考例句：

• History testifies to the ineptitude of coalitions in waging war. 历史昭示我们，多数国家联合作战，其进行甚为困难。
• All the coalitions in history have disintegrated sooner or later. 历史上任何联盟迟早都垮台了。

12 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

13 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。

14 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。

15 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

16 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

17 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

18 transcend   

vt.超出，超越(理性等)的范围

参考例句：

• We can't transcend the limitations of the ego.我们无法超越自我的局限性。
• Everyone knows that the speed of airplanes transcend that of ships.人人都知道飞机的速度快于轮船的速度。

19 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

20 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。

21 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

22 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

23 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

24 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

25 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

26 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

27 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

28 deferred   

adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
• a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

29 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。

30 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

31 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

32 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。

33 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

34 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

35 apathy   

n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡

参考例句：

• He was sunk in apathy after his failure.他失败后心恢意冷。
• She heard the story with apathy.她听了这个故事无动于衷。

36 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

37 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

38 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

39 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

40 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。