美国国家公共电台 NPR In Her Pitch For President, Kamala Harris Focuses On Criminal Justice, Inequality

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Senator Kamala Harris was at the Capitol yesterday, voting against one of President Trump's judicial¹ nominees². Then she went down the street and walked into a Democratic Party office. She pulled up a chair and gave us the opening argument of her presidential campaign.

KAMALA HARRIS: Middle class, working families in America today are losing. The rules have been written in a way that has excluded support of those families.

INSKEEP: MORNING EDITION is hearing opening arguments from prominent declared candidates. What would they do if elected? Several want to direct money to people toward the lower end of the income scale, and that includes Harris. She wants families with incomes under $100,000 to receive a tax credit of up to $6,000.

Why is it, in your view, a good idea to hand someone a check? - to hand them a tax refund⁴, to hand them a tax rebate⁵, to let them claim some cash.

HARRIS: I don't think we can have this conversation without including carried interest (laughter).

INSKEEP: She is referring to one of the advantages wealthy people claim in the tax code. Harris is a former San Francisco district attorney. She was also California's attorney general before the Senate. And one of her initiatives as district attorney has drawn⁶ criticism for how harsh it sounds today.

When you prosecuted⁸ parents whose kids missed school, were you doing that out of some larger, social concern? What was on your mind?

HARRIS: So I did an analysis when I was DA of who the homicide victims were who were under the age of 25 when they were killed and learned, at the time, that 94 percent of them were high school dropouts. Today 70 percent of the people in prison are high school dropouts. So I decided⁹ to take this issue on from a perspective of not wanting to have to prosecute⁷ those kids later in their life. And it was because we got more services for these kids. And we put a spotlight¹⁰ on the fact that transportation was a big issue for some parents - just getting their child to school. We learned that, you know, if a parent is working two jobs and they've got a 7-year-old and then the 2-year-old gets sick, they might say to the 7-year-old, stay home, and take care of the 2-year-old, because having child care, you know, and paying for that extra day is going to be too difficult. It was things like that.

INSKEEP: But was there something, in retrospect¹¹, kind of undignified about going to that parent with the two jobs and the two kids and one of them is sick and prosecuting¹² that parent? That was your opening bid to them.

HARRIS: No. The opening bid was to say, let's work out getting the child to school every day...

INSKEEP: Or you'll be prosecuted.

HARRIS: ...So that - so there were - nobody went to jail. And hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of families went through our program.

INSKEEP: California's current governor, Gavin Newsom, has this week - as I'm sure you know - announced a moratorium¹³ on the death penalty in California. Is there a federal equivalent that you would do? Federal executions, of course, are quite rare. but...

HARRIS: Yes. I...

INSKEEP: There's a federal death penalty.

HARRIS: I think that there should be.

INSKEEP: A moratorium.

HARRIS: I think...

INSKEEP: An end.

HARRIS: Yes, I do. I do believe that. There should be...

INSKEEP: No one would be executed...

HARRIS: Correct.

INSKEEP: ...If you were president of the United States...

HARRIS: Correct.

INSKEEP: ...For any crime?

HARRIS: Correct.

INSKEEP: Not even - I don't know...

HARRIS: Not in the United States...

INSKEEP: ...Treason?

HARRIS: ...No.

INSKEEP: There's nothing that rises to that level.

HARRIS: Not in the United States, no.

INSKEEP: As state attorney general, Harris defended the death penalty because she says it was the law. But she declined to seek the death penalty, even for a man who killed a cop. That is just one of the issues she would influence as president.

Having spent your career devoted¹⁴ to the rule of law, how would you apply the rule of law to the problem of people who are in the United States illegally?

HARRIS: We have to pass comprehensive immigration reform. We...

INSKEEP: In the absence of that, though - last two, three presidents haven't been able to do that.

HARRIS: Well - but, no, because you're asking me if I were president, which I fully¹⁵ intend to be (laughter). I'm going to tell you that we have to pass comprehensive immigration reform. And I'm actually happy to share with you that I think that there's bipartisan consensus¹⁶.

INSKEEP: But in the absence of that, which is the situation that the last president was in and the president before him was in, what are you going to do with those 11 million people?

HARRIS: Well, I'm, one, not going to vilify¹⁷ them for the sake of scapegoating¹⁸ a whole population of people. I'm going to keep America's promise to, for example, those DREAMers who receive protection under DACA - Deferred¹⁹ Action for Childhood Arrivals. I believe that we have to keep our promises.

INSKEEP: I'm thinking of a time when President Obama was dealing²⁰ with unaccompanied minors²¹ coming to the U.S.-Mexico border. And the president was reported to have said, I'm the chief executive. There's a law. We have to enforce the law. We have to send them back. Would you anticipate doing that - enforcing laws that, you may yourself feel are immoral²² or wrong, but it's simply the law?

HARRIS: So let me just - to the point of that moment in our history - tell you how I handled it. I was attorney general at the time. And I will never forget being at home watching the evening news. And in Murrieta, Calif., there was a group of these children on a bus. When a group of our countrymen surrounded that bus, shouting at these young people, go back to where you came from - and then I heard about what was happening in Washington, D.C., which is there was a discussion about how we need to expedite these hearings to send them back to where they came from.

INSKEEP: That was the goal - judicial proceedings²³ more quickly, yeah.

HARRIS: Yeah. Now, let me tell you. Again, people in Washington were saying, expedite these cases. Get them done in two weeks, for children who - I will never forget the images - who were sitting on a chair. Their feet were dangling²⁴. That's how small they were. And we were going to expedite these cases to have them tell a perfect stranger, in a language or a dialect they don't speak, about the trauma²⁵ that they were experiencing in their home country, which required them to seek refuge in ours.

And so I got on the phone with managing partners from law firms up and down the state of California and said, let's get pro³ bono legal services to help these children who otherwise were not entitled to attorneys. All of that to say, one - I disagree with any policy that would turn America's back on people who are fleeing harm. I, frankly²⁶, believe that it is contrary to everything that we have symbolically²⁷ and actually said we stand for. And so I would not enforce a law that would reject people and turn them away without giving them a fair and due process to determine if we should give them asylum²⁸ and refuge.

INSKEEP: We're in a world with 60 million refugees, and with every reason...

HARRIS: Yeah.

INSKEEP: ...To believe there are more.

HARRIS: Yeah.

INSKEEP: When you look at the forecast for climate change, for example, a lot of people...

HARRIS: Climate change, Yemen, Syria, Venezuela - go down the list. You're right.

INSKEEP: Suppose there are far more people seeking refuge in the United States than even there are now. You'll let them in.

HARRIS: I will not deny them a process of determining whether we should and can let them in. I would not deny them that process.

INSKEEP: An opening argument from Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

1 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

2 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

3 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

4 refund   

v.退还，偿还；n.归还，偿还额，退款

参考例句：

• They demand a refund on unsatisfactory goods.他们对不满意的货品要求退款。
• We'll refund your money if you aren't satisfied.你若不满意，我们愿意退款给你。

5 rebate   

v./n.折扣，回扣，退款；vt.给...回扣，给...打折扣

参考例句：

• You can claim a rebate on your tax.你可以要求退回部分税款。
• Customers are to benefit from a rebate on their electricity bills.顾客将从他们的电费退费中得到实惠。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

8 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

11 retrospect   

n.回顾，追溯；v.回顾，回想，追溯

参考例句：

• One's school life seems happier in retrospect than in reality.学校生活回忆起来显得比实际上要快乐。
• In retrospect,it's easy to see why we were wrong.回顾过去就很容易明白我们的错处了。

12 prosecuting   

检举、告发某人( prosecute的现在分词 )； 对某人提起公诉； 继续从事（某事物）； 担任控方律师

参考例句：

• The witness was cross-examined by the prosecuting counsel. 证人接受控方律师的盘问。
• Every point made by the prosecuting attorney was telling. 检查官提出的每一点都是有力的。

13 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

14 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

15 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

16 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？

17 vilify   

v.诽谤，中伤

参考例句：

• But I also do not want people to vilify.但希望我也别给人诬蔑。
• Two chose not to vilify Skilling,however.然而，也有两个人并不愿诋毁思斯奇林。

18 scapegoating   

v.使成为替罪羊( scapegoat的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Washington's scapegoating of China could take the world to the brink of a very slippery slope. 华盛顿方面找中国作替罪羊，可能会把世界推向灾难性下滑的边缘。 来自互联网

19 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

20 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。

21 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

23 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

24 dangling   

悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果，那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
• The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上，摇晃着他们的双腿。

25 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

26 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。

27 symbolically   

ad.象征地，象征性地

参考例句：

• By wearing the ring on the third finger of the left hand, a married couple symbolically declares their eternal love for each other. 将婚戒戴在左手的第三只手指上，意味着夫妻双方象征性地宣告他们的爱情天长地久，他们定能白头偕老。
• Symbolically, he coughed to clear his throat. 周经理象征地咳一声无谓的嗽，清清嗓子。

28 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。