VOA标准英语2008年-Iowa Caucuses Provide Grassroots Democracy

By Greg Flakus
Des Moines
02 January 2008

On Thursday, voters in Iowa will gather in community halls, schools, coffee shops and other venues¹ to participate in this year's presidential caucuses³. This first-in-the-nation event, officially since 1972, could determine who the likely candidates for president will be from both the Republican and Democratic parties. VOA's Greg Flakus explains the process in this report from Des Moines.

There are 1,781 political precincts in Iowa and state residents who are eligible⁴ to vote in this year's election may go to the party caucus² of their choice in each of those precincts on Thursday.

Republicans will select the candidate of their choice through a majority vote at each caucus site.  Democrats⁵ will divide into candidate preference groups and then determine which candidates have enough support to be viable⁶.  Caucus-goers supporting non-viable candidates can then switch to another candidate.  Once one candidate has more than half the votes in each caucus, he or she is declared the victor and that result is sent in to the Democratic party headquarters in Des Moines to be added to the statewide tally⁷.

Norm Sterzenbach, who directs the caucuses for the Democratic Party in Iowa, tells VOA that delegates chosen at these meetings, for both parties, are not technically⁸ bound, but they usually do stick with their candidate all the way through the process.

"Our delegate preferences on caucus night are non-binding," he explained.  "What tends to happen, or at least what has happened in most recent years is that by the time the national convention rolls around we already know who the nominee⁹ is going to be. So we have a unanimous vote for that candidate regardless of how they finished in the Iowa caucuses."

What is more important than the actual delegates won here is the perception of momentum¹⁰ a candidate may attain¹¹ by either winning outright¹² or coming close to winning.  In the 2004 Democratic caucuses, for example, Senator John Kerry's win in Iowa propelled him forward to victories in following primaries, ensuring him the nomination¹³.

Many larger states have criticized Iowa's first place status in the presidential election process, noting that this relatively¹⁴ small Midwestern state is hardly representative of the rest of the country.  But Iowans remain fiercely protective of their status and Norm Sterzenbach says this is one topic on which both Republicans and Democrats in Iowa agree.

"What Iowa has going for it is that it is a small state where candidates can come here and talk to voters one-on-one," he added.  "The other thing that we have is that our caucus-goers know the issues, they know the candidates. Our caucus-goers will walk in on caucus night knowing not only where their candidate stands on the issues, but also knowing where most of the candidates stand on issues that are important to them."

There have been proposals in Congress to set up a rotating system of primaries and caucuses for future elections so that different parts of the country can have the opportunity of going first. But many candidates who have participated in the process here argue that the tradition should be maintained since it gives candidates with fewer resources a chance to make their case directly to voters in a way that would be impossible in states with much larger populations.

1 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 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

4 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

5 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》

6 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

7 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

8 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

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 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

11 attain   

vt.达到，获得，完成

参考例句：

• I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
• His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。

12 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

13 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。

14 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。