2007年VOA标准英语-US Republicans Worry about Fallout From Craig S

By Jim Malone
Washington
30 August 2007

Some prominent Republicans are calling on conservative Republican Senator Larry Craig of Idaho to resign in the wake of his June arrest by an undercover policeman investigating sexual activities in an airport men's room.  As VOA National correspondent Jim Malone reports, Republicans are already worried about national political fallout from the Craig scandal. 

Senator Larry Craig

Larry Craig has been in Congress for 27 years, first as a congressman¹ and now a senator.

Craig has been a reliable conservative Republican during his years in Congress and a longtime critic of gay marriage.  But some of his most stalwart supporters are now abandoning him after revelations this week that he was arrested in the men's room at the Minneapolis, Minnesota airport last June.

An undercover policeman said Craig first looked at the officer through a crack in the bathroom stall door, then sat in the next stall and began to tap his foot in a way that signaled a desire to engage in what the officer called lewd² conduct.

Craig eventually pled guilty to a lesser³ charge of disorderly conduct.

But after the arrest and guilty plea became public, Craig held a news conference in his home state of Idaho and denied any wrongdoing.

"Let me be clear.  I am not gay," he said.  "I never have been gay.  I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport.  I chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge in hopes of making it go away."

Craig's defiant⁴ defense⁵ did not sit well with many of his fellow Republicans, including Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona.  McCain spoke⁶ to the Cable News Network.

"I believe that he pled guilty and he had the opportunity to plead innocent, so I think he should resign," said Senator McCain.

Senate Republican leaders stripped Craig of committee assignments in the Senate pending⁸ an ethics⁹ investigation¹⁰.  Craig also voluntarily left the presidential campaign of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt⁷ Romney.

White House spokesman Tony Snow stopped short of calling for Craig's resignation, but did express disappointment on behalf of President Bush.

"I do not think the president is drawing any global judgment¹¹ on Republicans," he said.  "What we have said is that the story is certainly a disappointment and it is something that the Senate Ethics Committee is going to be handling."

Michigan Republican Congressman Peter Hoekstra was the first to call on Craig to resign.  Hoekstra told NBC's Today program that Republicans should act swiftly to prevent negative political fallout from the Craig scandal.

"The important thing here is that we need to maintain the integrity of the United States Senate and of the institution of Congress," he said.  "I mean, we are at 18 to 20 percent approval ratings and this is one of the reasons why, that when these types of things happen in Congress, it appears there are no consequences.  That is unacceptable to the American people."

Some Republicans worry that the Craig scandal could alienate¹² social conservatives within the Republican Party, a key constituency in next year's presidential and congressional elections.

Political experts say Republicans have plenty of other things to worry about next year without having to fend¹³ off another sex scandal as they did during the 2006 congressional midterm elections.

The 2006 scandal involving former Republican Congressman Mark Foley of Florida and his improper¹⁴ involvement with teenage congressional pages was a factor in the Democrats¹⁵ winning control of Congress last year.

University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato says the Democrats already have an edge going into the 2008 election.

"They have many advantages, not least that we have had one party in power for eight years, and Americans normally like to change after eight years, but they do not always do it," he noted¹⁶.  "Second, there is no question that the president's unpopularity, which stems mainly from Iraq, but also from [Hurricane] Katrina and other events, is going to be an albatross around the neck of any Republican [presidential] nominee¹⁷."

In the coming weeks Craig is expected to announce whether he will seek a fourth term in the Senate.

1 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

2 lewd   

adj.淫荡的

参考例句：

• Drew spends all day eyeing up the women and making lewd comments.德鲁整天就盯着女人看，说些下流话。
• I'm not that mean,despicable,cowardly,lewd creature that horrible little man sees. 我可不是那个令人恶心的小人所见到的下流、可耻、懦弱、淫秽的家伙。

3 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

4 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

8 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

9 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

10 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。

11 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

12 alienate   

vt.使疏远，离间；转让(财产等)

参考例句：

• His attempts to alienate the two friends failed because they had complete faith.他离间那两个朋友的企图失败了，因为他们彼此完全信任。
• We'd better not alienate ourselves from the colleagues.我们最好还是不要与同事们疏远。

13 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

14 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

15 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》

16 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

17 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。