超级代表：候选人背后的秘密力量

AS IT IS 2016-03-02 Super Delegates: The Secret Force Behind Candidates 超级代表：候选人背后的秘密力量

If you count the delegates won by Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, the race is close.

Clinton, after a big primary win Saturday in South Carolina, had 90 elected delegates, compared to 65 for Sanders, according to RealClearPolitics.com.

But when you count other delegates, Clinton’s lead is much larger – 543-85, the political website said.

The reason: “superdelegates.”

“They are unlike other delegates in that they are not elected in primaries or caucuses⁴, don't represent a particular candidate, can endorse⁵ whomever they wish, and are not bound on the first ballot⁶ or any subsequent ballot,” said Norm Ornstein. He is a government and politics expert at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute.

Superdelegates are party leaders who make up 15 percent of the 4,763 Democratic delegates. A majority of the 4,763 delegates is needed to win the Democratic presidential nomination⁷ at the party’s convention this summer in Philadelphia.

Clinton, former U.S. secretary of state, and Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, are the two remaining Democratic presidential candidates.

Most delegates to the Democratic and Republican conventions are elected in primaries and caucuses.

Superdelegates are not elected. They are governors, mayors, members of Congress and other party leaders who automatically become delegates. President Barack Obama and Vice⁸ President Joe Biden are among the Democratic super delegates.

The Republicans have 2,472 delegates to select their presidential nominee⁹. About 7 percent are superdelegates.

The Republican National Committee says the party adopted a rule in 2012 that requires its superdelegates to vote based on the choices made by voters in their home states. That means they play much less of a role than Democratic superdelegates.

Superdelegates have made a big difference for Clinton. After the first four Democratic contests, in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, Clinton had a 90-65 elected delegate advantage over Sanders. But a large lead in super delegates – 453 for Clinton and only 20 for Sanders -- puts her in a big lead for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The lead among superdelegates reflects the view of some party leaders that Clinton is more electable than Sanders, Ornstein said. But their support has angered some, especially among young voters, who have packed Sanders rallies, he said.

Said Ornstein: “They (superdelegates) are controversial now on the Democratic Party side because the overwhelming majority have endorsed¹⁰ Hillary Clinton, while the activist¹¹ outsiders who support Bernie Sanders see this as a kind of a cabal¹² to block the popular will.”

Isabel Framer of Ohio, a superdelegate for Clinton, told Reuters she has made some voters angry. On one voice mail left for Framer, a caller says he does not think it is fair: “you get to vote whoever way you want. I’ll be watching your vote.”

But she said such criticism has not changed her mind and she still plans to vote for Clinton at the Democratic National Convention.

After four Republican primaries and caucuses, Donald Trump¹³, the billionaire businessman, has 82 delegates, according to RealClearPolitics.com. Tied for second place are Senator Ted² Cruz of Texas and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, with 17 delegates each.

Brian Brox, a Tulane University political scientist, said from the mid-19th century through the early 1970s, Republican and Democratic officials chose presidential candidates.

The switch to voting by rank and file party members came after the 1968 Democratic convention. That was the Chicago convention that drew thousands of protestors opposing the nomination of Hubert Humphrey because he supported the Vietnam War.

“Today, even though some party officials have voting power at the conventions at which nominations¹⁴ are decided¹⁵, the vast majority of delegates to those nominating conventions are selected in primaries and caucuses at which registered voters are free to participate,” Brox said.

In November, Americans will vote for president by choosing between the Republican and Democratic nominees¹⁶, as well as any independent candidates who run.

The winning candidate in each state will get Electoral College delegates, with wins in larger states worth the most. Usually, the candidate who gets the most votes wins, but there are exceptions. In 2000, Democrat¹ Al Gore¹⁷ won more votes than Republican George W. Bush, but Bush won the presidency¹⁸ because he got more Electoral College votes.

The Council on Foreign Relations describes the election process for U.S. presidents as “one of the most complex, lengthy¹⁹ and expensive in the world.”

Words in This Story

super – adj. special

primary – n. an election in which members of the same political party run against each other for the chance to be in a larger and more important election

caucus³ – n. a meeting of members of a political party for the purpose of choosing candidates for an election

endorse – v. to publicly or officially say that you support a candidate

subsequent -- adj. happening or coming after something else

controversial – adj. relating to or causing much discussion, disagreement, or argument

outsider – n. a person who does not belong to or is not accepted as part of a particular group or organization

cabal – n. a small group of people who work together secretly

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 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

3 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

4 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

5 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

6 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

7 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

8 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。

9 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

10 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

12 cabal   

n.政治阴谋小集团

参考例句：

• He had been chosen by a secret government cabal.他已被一个秘密的政府阴谋集团选中。
• The illegal aspects of the cabal's governance are glaring and ubiquitous.黑暗势力的非法统治是显而易见的并无处不在。

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 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

15 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。

16 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

17 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

18 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

19 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• 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。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。