美国国家公共电台 NPR Republican Florida Governor Jumps Into Senate Race, Shaking Up 2018 Map

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Florida's Republican governor, Rick Scott, announced this morning that he is running for U.S. Senate. He’ll be taking on Democrat¹ Bill Nelson for that post. NPR's Greg Allen says Scott's announcement is the latest move in a surprising and polarizing career.

GREG ALLEN, BYLINE²: Few people in Florida had heard of Rick Scott in 2010 when he announced he was beginning his political career with a run for the state's top office. He ended up spending more than $70 million of his own money on a campaign that came at the right time. It was the beginning of the insurgent³ Tea Party movement, which embraced Scott as one of its own. After taking office, Scott announced plans to cut $5 billion out of the state budget in front of a crowd of Tea Party supporters.

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RICK SCOTT: It's a budget that's designed to reduce state spending, lower taxes and hold your government accountable. This is the budget you asked for.

ALLEN: In his first year, Scott oversaw⁴ big cuts in spending on education, healthcare and the environment. He took aim at government regulations, eliminating an agency that oversaw development statewide. It was all done with one purpose in mind.

MAC STIPANOVICH: His thing was jobs, which he's been so consistent about as almost to be one-dimensional in the last eight years.

ALLEN: Mac Stipanovich is a longtime Florida Republican political strategist.

STIPANOVICH: Tax cuts for business to create jobs. What time is it? Time to create jobs.

ALLEN: Florida's economy, like that of the nation, has rebounded⁵ during Scott's time in office. Democrats⁶ point out, though, that median incomes have declined during that period, while the cost of living has risen. Scott took office as a conservative with tough positions on many issues, urging, for example, a crackdown on immigration. In a state where a fifth of the population is foreign-born, he quickly retreated from that. After opposing expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable⁷ Care Act, he reversed himself on that issue not once, but twice. Now, once again, he opposes it. Brian Ballard, a lobbyist and fundraiser with close ties to Scott, says as he's gained experience in office, Scott's positions on many issues have evolved.

BRIAN BALLARD: He's a combination of an insurgent mentality⁸ but somebody who understands now how government operates, what it means to compromise to make important principles become governing policy.

ALLEN: Before he decided⁹ to run for governor, Rick Scott made millions in the private sector¹⁰. In the 1980s, he helped build Columbia/HCA into the nation's largest for-profit hospital chain. Scott left the company amidst a federal investigation¹¹. Columbia/HCA eventually pleaded guilty to overcharging the government and paid what was at the time the largest fraud settlement in U.S. history. In his campaigns for governor, opponents attacked Scott for being involved in one of the largest health care fraud cases in history, but the charges never took hold. Democratic strategist Steve Schale says opponents have consistently underrated Scott's political skills.

STEVE SCHALE: First of all, this is a guy that spends a lot of money on polling. He has a sense of where the voters are. He is a magician at manipulating the media. As he will say himself, he only says what he wants to be reported. And honestly, he's been lucky. He's run for re-election in two of the most Republican years in the last hundred, and certainly, he's benefited from that, as well.

ALLEN: Over the last year, Florida has been hit by a series of events that have tested Scott, including hurricanes Irma and Maria. In February, Scott rushed to Parkland after 17 people were killed in the mass shooting there and pledged action.

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SCOTT: The violence has to stop. We cannot lose another child in this country to violence in a school.

ALLEN: Working with Republican leaders in the Legislature, Scott was able to sign the first gun control legislation passed in Florida in more than two decades.

DAN GELBER: I think you've got to look at eight years, though.

ALLEN: Dan Gelber, a former Democratic leader in the Legislature, now mayor of Miami Beach, calls passage of the new gun law just a modest step.

GELBER: You know, all of these Republican officials, including the governor, have been very beholden to the NRA. They've given them an outsized influence over our state. They've allowed them to create a gun culture and a culture of violence.

ALLEN: Gelber and others say there's another part of his legacy¹² Scott may struggle with in a Senate campaign - his close ties to President Trump¹³. Scott was an early Trump supporter, and the president has urged him to run for the Senate. This election, many analysts¹⁴ believe, will in large part be a referendum on the president, one that may turn Rick Scott's close relationship with Trump into a liability. Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE SHANGHAI RESTORATION PROJECT SONG, "RABBITUAL")

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 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。

3 insurgent   

adj.叛乱的，起事的；n.叛乱分子

参考例句：

• Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说，他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
• The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。

4 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

5 rebounded   

弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 )； 反弹； 产生反作用； 未能奏效

参考例句：

• The ball rebounded from the goalpost and Owen headed it in. 球从门柱弹回，欧文头球将球攻进。
• The ball rebounded from his racket into the net. 球从他的球拍上弹回网中。

6 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》

7 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

8 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

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 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

11 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

12 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

13 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。

14 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。