美国国家公共电台 NPR Kavanaugh Nomination Battle Is Fought With Millions In Secret Cash

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

So since President Trump¹ nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme² Court back in July, advocacy groups have spent a whole lot of money, nearly $10 million, on these warring TV ads for and against him. Now the attacks - and the spending - are fiercer than ever. Here's NPR's Peter Overby.

PETER OVERBY, BYLINE³: The sharpest attack so far may come from the American Civil Liberties Union, which opposes Kavanaugh. The ACLU rolled out the ad this week with a million-dollar buy in four states.

(SOUNDBITE OF POLITICAL AD)

BILL CLINTON: I did not have sexual relations with that woman.

BILL COSBY: I've never seen anything like this.

BRETT KAVANAUGH: I categorically and unequivocally deny the allegation against me by Dr. Ford⁴.

OVERBY: Then-President Bill Clinton, comedian⁵ and convicted sexual assailant Bill Cosby and Kavanaugh at a Senate hearing last week, where he denied committing sexual assault back in prep school. That ad came out within hours of this one from the conservative Judicial⁶ Crisis Network.

(SOUNDBITE OF POLITICAL AD)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: The liberal mob and their media allies tried to ruin a good man with smears⁷.

KAVANAUGH: You have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Judge Kavanaugh fought back, clearing his name.

OVERBY: At the hearing, Kavanaugh described the allegation against him this way.

(SOUNDBITE OF HEARING)

KAVANAUGH: This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit.

OVERBY: And he said he knew how it was funded.

(SOUNDBITE OF HEARING)

KAVANAUGH: Millions of dollars in money from outside, left-wing opposition⁸ groups.

OVERBY: In fact, there's money flying every which way in the Kavanaugh confirmation⁹ battle. It comes from advocacy groups that can keep their donors¹⁰ secret. The thing that can be traced is TV spending. And the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University law school has been tracking the Kavanaugh TV ads.

The center's Douglas Keith said both sides are focusing their ads on three Democratic senators who are up for re-election next month, Joe Manchin in West Virginia, Joe Donnelly in Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota.

DOUGLAS KEITH: A little over $4 million has been spent running ads in just those states.

OVERBY: There's $2 million more being spent in Maine, home of undecided Republican Senator Susan Collins, and about half a million in Alaska, home of another uncommitted Republican, Lisa Murkowski. Keith said these are not high-cost media markets.

KEITH: Especially when you're looking at states like North Dakota and Alaska, this is really an incredible amount of spending.

OVERBY: The Brennan Center data show that when it comes to TV, there are many more conservative groups than liberal ones. And conservatives are spending most of the money.

Peter Overby, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF EPIGRAM'S "THE STRANGERS WE ARE BECOMING")

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 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 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。

4 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

5 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

6 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。

7 smears   

污迹( smear的名词复数 )； 污斑； （显微镜的）涂片； 诽谤

参考例句：

• His evidence was a blend of smears, half truths and downright lies. 他的证词里掺杂着诽谤、部份的事实和彻头彻尾的谎言。
• Anything written with a soft pencil smears easily. 用软铅笔写成的东西容易污成一片。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

10 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》