美国国家公共电台 NPR Democratic Candidates Descend On California And Offer A Preview Of Fights To Come

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

This weekend, more Democratic candidates for president are gathered in one place than at any other point in the 2020 campaign so far. The speeches to the California Democratic Party's convention offered an early glimpse into this month's first presidential debate. NPR's Scott Detrow reports from San Francisco.

SCOTT DETROW, BYLINE¹: Most California Democrats² are unapologetically progressive, and the delegates and activists³ who show up to the party's conventions are even more so. As California Congresswoman Barbara Lee put it...

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BARBARA LEE: California Democrats are the most progressive and the most democratic and the wokest (ph) Democrats in the entire country.

DETROW: So there was a lot that presidential candidates, like Senator Kamala Harris, wanted to work in, even as they stared down a strictly⁴ enforced seven-minute time limit.

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KAMALA HARRIS: Good morning. Good morning. Come on, guys. Don't eat into my time. I got a clock right in front of me.

DETROW: Harris was one of several candidates to spend a lot of time going after President Trump⁵. She called the campaign a fight for America, criticizing action after action of the Trump White House.

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HARRIS: We need to begin impeachment⁶ proceedings⁷, and we need a new commander in chief.

DETROW: Other Democrats told the crowd the party needs to keep the conversation on its own proposals. That was one of two big divides that appeared on the convention stage and that will likely play out at length on the Miami debate stage in a few weeks.

The second offered some of the first signs of candidates criticizing each other. It had to do with an ongoing⁸ debate in the party - go big and bold playing to the base or try and appeal to independents and moderates. Senator Elizabeth Warren has made her view clear.

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ELIZABETH WARREN: Big problems call for big solutions.

DETROW: In San Francisco, Warren criticized unnamed Democrats for dreaming small and just waiting for, as she put it, Republicans to come to their senses.

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WARREN: Well, here's the thing. When a candidate tells you about all the things that aren't possible, about how political calculations come first, about how you should settle for little bits and pieces instead of real change, they're telling you something important. They are telling you they will not fight for you.

DETROW: It sounded a lot like criticism of former Vice⁹ President Joe Biden's approach to the race and to governing, even if Biden was never directly mentioned. So did this from South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

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PETE BUTTIGIEG: In these times, Democrats can no more keep a promise to take us back to the 2000s or the 1990s than Conservatives can keep a promise to take us back to the 1950s. We can only look forward.

DETROW: Biden has talked a lot about restoring the Obama-Biden administration's policies. He was campaigning in Ohio Saturday, so it was left to former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper to defend incremental¹⁰ approaches and compromising. It didn't go over well.

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JOHN HICKENLOOPER: We shouldn't try to achieve universal coverage¹¹ by removing private insurance from over 150 million Americans. We should not try to tackle climate change by guaranteeing every American a government job.

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HICKENLOOPER: Hold on. Hold on.

DETROW: For all the debate about proposals, in the end, most Democratic voters tell pollsters they're just looking to get Trump out of office. That's a point Biden made in Ohio, speaking to a Human Rights Campaign dinner. Going point by point through actions the White House has taken that undermined gay, lesbian and transgender rights, Biden said...

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JOE BIDEN: And the fastest way to end it is end the Trump administration.

DETROW: Even more candidates will spend time on the same stage in a few weeks. The difference between the Miami debate and the California convention - then they'll all be onstage together and able to respond to the criticism.

Scott Detrow, NPR News, San Francisco.

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1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 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》

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 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

5 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。

6 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

7 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

8 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 incremental   

adj.增加的

参考例句：

• For logic devices, the incremental current gain is very important. 对于逻辑器件来说，提高电流增益是非常重要的。 来自辞典例句
• By using an incremental approach, the problems involving material or geometric nonlinearity have been solved. 借应用一种增量方法，已经解决了包括材料的或几何的非线性问题。 来自辞典例句

11 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。