美国国家公共电台 NPR Opinion: Should Republicans Still Call Themselves The Party Of Lincoln?

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Should Republicans still call themselves the party of Lincoln? Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, declared, we are the party of Lincoln, as he contended President Trump¹ was not racist² for suggesting four Democratic representatives - U.S. citizens who are also women of color - should go back to the places they came from.

But it might be telling to remember what Abraham Lincoln thought of a political movement of the 1850s called the American Party. They called themselves the Know-Nothings because they were encouraged to say they knew nothing about the secretive party's membership. The Know-Nothings detested³ and feared immigration. They believed an influx⁴ of Catholic immigrants from Germany and Ireland were part of a papal conspiracy⁵ to overthrow⁶ white Protestant America. They wanted to restrict immigration and keep foreign-born citizens from voting. The Know-Nothings were not a negligible splinter group. They won more than 40 seats in Congress in 1854. Millard Fillmore, their candidate for president in 1856, won 21% of the vote.

Lincoln wrote his old friend Joshua Speed in 1855, I am not a Know-Nothing. That is certain. How could I be? How can anyone who abhors⁷ the oppression of negroes be in favor of degrading classes of white people? Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that all men are created equal. We now practically read it, all men are created equal except Negroes. When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read, all men are created equal, except Negroes and foreigners and Catholics.

Lincoln, like many great figures, can be quoted to bolster⁸ almost any position. But Sean Trainor, a lecturer at the University of Florida who has written about the period, told us modern Republican immigration policy bears no resemblance to the policies of Lincoln and his generation of Republicans. The party's founders⁹ fought against proposed limits on the number of immigrant arrivals. Today's Republicans do the opposite.

Maybe no political party can forever be identified with its founders. Many Democrats¹⁰ no longer call their annual fundraisers Jefferson-Jackson Day dinners because Thomas Jefferson wrote all men are created equal but still owned slaves, and Andrew Jackson brutalized Native Americans. But can Republicans who don't see bigotry¹¹ in President Trump's insult continue to claim Abe Lincoln as the brand name of their party?

(SOUNDBITE OF BLUE DOT SESSIONS' "HUNDRED MILE")

1 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。

2 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。

3 detested   

v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They detested each other on sight. 他们互相看着就不顺眼。
• The freethinker hated the formalist; the lover of liberty detested the disciplinarian. 自由思想者总是不喜欢拘泥形式者，爱好自由者总是憎恶清规戒律者。 来自辞典例句

4 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

5 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

6 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

7 abhors   

v.憎恶( abhor的第三人称单数 )；（厌恶地）回避；拒绝；淘汰

参考例句：

• For the same reason, our party abhors the deification of an individual. 因为这样，我们党也厌弃对于个人的神化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She abhors cruelty to animals. 她憎恶虐待动物。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

9 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

10 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》

11 bigotry   

n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等

参考例句：

• She tried to dissociate herself from the bigotry in her past.她力图使自己摆脱她以前的偏见。
• At least we can proceed in this matter without bigotry.目前这件事咱们至少可以毫无偏见地进行下去。