美国国家公共电台 NPR--How is abortion rights playing into the choices for Latino voters?

How is abortion¹ rights playing into the choices for Latino voters?

Transcript²

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Democratic pollster Aileen Cardona-Arroyo ahead of the midterm elections. Are Democrats³ making a mistake by focusing too heavily on abortion instead of the economy?

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

OK. We're going to talk more about all this with Aileen Cardona-Arroyo. She is vice⁴ president of the public opinion research firm Hart Research Associates, which does polling for Democrats. She specializes in the views of Latino voters. Thanks so much for being with us this morning.

AILEEN CARDONA-ARROYO: Yeah. Great to be here.

MARTIN: What does your polling say about how much abortion is animating⁵ Democrats on a broad scale, first off?

CARDONA-ARROYO: No. You know, I think the Dobbs decision - there's a before and after the cycle, you know? Of course, as it is right now heading into the November election, the economy, the cost of living, inflation was top of mind for voters. And it still is today. But I think what the Dobbs decision did was add another variable into the mix this election cycle, energizing⁶ the Democratic base and really, I think, giving Democrats something that can bring back the races to the state and local level. You know, Republicans were, at the start of the year, really trying to make this election about Biden and a referendum on him. And, you know, the Dobbs decision essentially⁷ said, well, this is a matter of the states. And if it's a matter for the states, that means that it matters who is your senator, your member of Congress, who represents you at the local level in your state. And it allows Democrats to make the election about those individual races in a way that they don't have to be as tied to Biden and what's happening at the federal level.

MARTIN: Well, let's drill down a bit then. You spent a lot of time looking into what motivates Latino voters in particular. Understanding Latino voters are not a monolith - they're as diverse a group as any other. But do they trend more socially conservative than, say, white Democratic voters?

CARDONA-ARROYO: You know, that's kind of a complicated question to answer. I think it depends on which Latino voters you're looking at. You know, there's a big divide based on religion. So you know, many people believe that because Latinos are predominantly Catholic, that means they're going to be very conservative on the issue of abortion. And really, for Latino Catholics, it's not an issue like you see, for instance, with white evangelicals, where it's an issue they vote on as saliently. It's more, you know, they actually tend to be predominantly supportive of abortion access, even if there's some variation in how much restrictions⁸ they want. It's really...

MARTIN: But they're not single-issue voters like white evangelicals?

CARDONA-ARROYO: Exactly. But when you do look at Latino evangelicals, they do actually behave or look like - more like white evangelicals, in that abortion is a salient issue. They tend to be more single-issue voters on abortion. And that, of course, is a much smaller percentage of Latino voters generally. But they are growing and, in some areas, pretty energized⁹ around this issue. So it really does vary by, you know, which Latino voters you're looking at.

MARTIN: Does geography play into it? Are Latinos in blue states more concerned about restoring reproductive rights? Do most Latinos in red states want to keep the laws restrictive?

CARDONA-ARROYO: Absolutely. I think, you know, you can cut the Latino electorate¹⁰ in many ways and have it be important politically. But I think the weight of geography is super important for understanding Latino political behavior. You know, Latinos in South Texas versus¹¹ Florida and Nevada, we're talking about, you know, different electorates¹² altogether.

MARTIN: Yeah.

CARDONA-ARROYO: I think, as a whole, in the aggregate¹³, when we do polling of Latinos, we do see that the vast majority of Latinos want abortion access. You know, they're not opposed to it. But you'll find that in some states, like Nevada, support for abortion access is, perhaps, you know, more stronger than it is in a state like, you know, in Texas, especially South Texas, when perhaps the economy is even more salient than elsewhere. So you do see that variation, that while at the aggregate, Latinos - the vast majority remain supportive of abortion access, there are some variations depending on which state you're looking at.

MARTIN: So A and Domenico nodded to this. But based on your polling looking into these issues for Democrats, do you think the party is making a mistake by focusing on abortion instead of really nailing a message about the state of the economy?

CARDONA-ARROYO: Well, I think it shouldn't be an either or, you know? I think, should Democrats be talking about abortion? Absolutely. We know that in midterms especially, turnout is a big factor. And we know that is an issue that is going to turn out - or we expect it to turn out the base. And so - and it's also an issue where the vast majority of voters, even those who are not Democrats, you know, they oppose extreme restrictions on abortion. So should Democrats talk about it? Absolutely. But at the same time, should Democrats only talk about abortion? No, absolutely not. You know, we see in polling after polling that the cost of living, inflation, the economy, other issues like crime, education, those are top concerns still. And to win or to perform well in November, Democrats need to be able to speak to those top concerns as well.

MARTIN: Aileen Cardona-Arroyo is vice president of the public opinion research firm Hart Research Associates. Thanks for your time.

CARDONA-ARROYO: Thank you so much.

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 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。

5 animating   

v.使有生气( animate的现在分词 )；驱动；使栩栩如生地动作；赋予…以生命

参考例句：

• Nature has her animating spirit as well as man who is nature's child. 大自然就象它的孩子――人类一样，有活生生的灵魂。 来自辞典例句
• They were doubtlessly the animating principle of many hours that superficially seemed vacant. 在表面看来无所事事的许多时刻中，它们无疑是活跃的因素。 来自辞典例句

6 energizing   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的现在分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• a refreshing and energizing fruit drink 提神并增加体能的果汁饮料
• The time required after energizing a device, before its rated output characteristics begin to apply. 从设备通电到它开始提供额定输出特性之间所需的时间。 来自辞典例句

7 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

9 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

10 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

11 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

12 electorates   

全体选民( electorate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The assembly's 15 seats have electorates as small as 190. 大会的15个议席只有很少的190选民参加。
• Restricting hedge funds is something they can sell to their electorates. 限制对冲基金是他们能够向选民兜售的东西。

13 aggregate   

adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合

参考例句：

• The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
• The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。