美国国家公共电台 NPR--Republicans continue to support Herschel Walker even after abortion report

Republicans continue to support Herschel Walker even after abortion¹ report

Transcript²

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to conservative strategist Ralph Reed about Herschel Walker, Georgia's anti-abortion Senate candidate, who has GOP support despite reports he paid for a girlfriend's abortion.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

It's less than five weeks until the midterms, and Democrats³ and Republicans are in an electoral battle for control of the Senate. Which party will prevail comes down to a few key races, including one in Georgia. There, Republican Herschel Walker, a former NFL star, is in a tight race with Democratic incumbent⁴ Senator Raphael Warnock. Walker is running on an anti-abortion platform, and he's said repeatedly that no abortion is ever acceptable, no matter the circumstance. So an accusation⁵ first reported in The Daily Beast that Walker paid for an abortion for his now ex-girlfriend - she provided a receipt, a check from Walker and a get-well card as proof - has many calling Walker a hypocrite.

He's been plagued by other troubling allegations, including domestic violence by his ex-wife and son. Despite the allegations, the Republican Party is closing ranks around Walker. Joining us now to discuss why is prominent conservative evangelical Christian⁶ leader Ralph Reed. He's founder⁷ and chair of the Faith and Freedom Coalition⁸ and former chair of the Georgia Republican Party. Good morning.

RALPH REED: Good morning, Leila. Good to be with you.

FADEL: Thank you for being here. So let's start with that question - why is the Republican Party still standing⁹ by this very flawed candidate whose scandals just seem to keep mounting?

REED: Well, I think in this particular case, we're dealing¹⁰ with a 13-year-old anonymous¹¹ allegation that no other media organization has been able to independently verify. We don't know who the accuser is. Herschel denies it. And to be perfectly¹² honest with you, in the aftermath of the Steele dossier and the Access Hollywood tape and the October surprise in October of 2018 of Brett Kavanaugh being accused of sexual assault and serial¹³ rape¹⁴, most of those charges were disproven. The main charge was never proven. I think voters are largely being inured¹⁵ to these kind of October surprises. Herschel denies this allegation. And I think voters are going to vote on the issues.

FADEL: So if I could just interrupt for one second - you're right. Herschel Walker does deny this. His son accuses him of lying about this. This is the woman that is now being reported to be a mother of one of his children. But it's not the only accusation against him. His son, Christian Walker, a conservative activist¹⁶, has now levied¹⁷ his own accusations¹⁸. He wrote on Twitter that Walker's not a family man, that, quote, "he threatened to kill us and had us move over six times in six months running from your violence." Walker's ex-wife accuses him of holding a gun to her head and threatening to blow her brains out. Is this a man who lines up with conservative Christian values, with Republican values?

REED: Well, I was at a fundraiser in December of last year where his son spoke¹⁹ effusively²⁰ about him and strongly supported him. So I don't know what that situation is. But look; I think what this really boils down to is we have an election in five weeks taking place when inflation is at a 40-year high. Gas prices are at the highest level in U.S. economic history. And people are voting on the failed policies of Joe Biden, whose job approval in Georgia is 37%. And among swing voters, Biden's job approval is 20%. And Raphael Warnock has voted with Joe Biden 96% of the time. He's tied to him. And so he's trying to change the subject to something that happened with Herschel Walker 13, 15, 20, 25 years ago. I'm just saying it's not going to work.

FADEL: This is a very important race for the Republicans and for the Democrats. And you were quoted in The New York Times...

REED: Sure.

FADEL: ...Saying, we've seen this movie before and that conservative voters will deliver a victory for Walker. Is this a reference to the bargain white evangelical Christians²¹ made to vote for Trump²² in 2016, when you talk about seeing this movie before?

REED: No, I think this one is a little different. I think, you know, Herschel has publicly and repeatedly acknowledged his past struggles with mental health. In fact, he wrote a book about it. And the clip that you mentioned about his former wife talking about how violent he was at that time, he's sitting next to her in that interview to talk about the help that he got, to talk about the fact that he was restored to health. And today they're best of friends. So it's really a story of hope and redemption. And I think what voters are particularly going to reject here is this is a man who has acknowledged past struggles with mental health. He's acknowledged past imperfections. He got the help he needed. He turned his life around. And he's ready to serve.

And what's really, I think, going to turn a lot of voters of faith off is, prior to being a U.S. senator, Raphael Warnock was a preacher. And the message of the gospel is that we can all find redemption through faith in Christ. Herschel's story is one of redemption and hope. And to drag those old stories into a campaign environment to try and tear somebody down, I think, is just a failed strategy. And I think it strikes a lot of voters of faith as contrary to their own redemption that they experienced.

FADEL: Ralph Reed is founder and chair of the Faith and Freedom Coalition. Thank you.

REED: Thank you.

1 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 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》

4 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

5 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

11 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

12 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

13 serial   

n.连本影片，连本电视节目；adj.连续的

参考例句：

• A new serial is starting on television tonight.今晚电视开播一部新的电视连续剧。
• Can you account for the serial failures in our experiment?你能解释我们实验屡屡失败的原因吗？

14 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

15 inured   

adj.坚强的，习惯的

参考例句：

• The prisoners quickly became inured to the harsh conditions.囚犯们很快就适应了苛刻的条件。
• He has inured himself to accept misfortune.他锻练了自己，使自己能承受不幸。

16 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。

17 levied   

征（兵）( levy的过去式和过去分词 )； 索取； 发动（战争）； 征税

参考例句：

• Taxes should be levied more on the rich than on the poor. 向富人征收的税应该比穷人的多。
• Heavy fines were levied on motoring offenders. 违规驾车者会遭到重罚。

18 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

19 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。

20 effusively   

adv.变溢地，热情洋溢地

参考例句：

• We were effusively welcomed by the patron and his wife. 我们受到老板和他妻子的热忱欢迎。 来自辞典例句
• The critics praised her effusively. 评论家们热情洋溢地表扬了她。 来自互联网

21 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

22 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。