美国国家公共电台 NPR--A divided approach to primaries could be chaotic for voters

A divided approach to primaries could be chaotic¹ for voters

Transcript²

As the DNC publicly debates the future of its presidential primary cycle, Republicans settle into the status quo, leading with the Iowa Caucuses³.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

But if some Democrats⁴ are ready to shove Iowa down the list, Republicans are not. Iowa Public Radio's Clay Masters reports.

CLAY MASTERS, BYLINE⁵: Plenty of Republicans have been in Iowa since the 2020 election, raising all kinds of questions about who might be thinking about the White House. So you'll hear this a lot from local press.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: 2024 is right around the corner, considering a presidential run?

MASTERS: Former Vice⁶ President Mike Pence got one of these at the Iowa State Fair this summer. Here's how he answered it.

MIKE PENCE: After the first of the year, my family and I will do as we've always done, and that is reflect and pray on where we might next serve, where we might next contribute.

MASTERS: This has been a commonplace political strategy for decades here - make inroads with potential donors⁷ and organizers and get in front of likely Iowa caucusgoers, people like Janet Gastineau, who was at the Iowa State Fair back in August. She was in the varied⁸ industries building when Pence was taking shelter from a thunderstorm. She was surprised and happy to see him there.

JANET GASTINEAU: I think he did a great job. And I love the way he handled things on January 6, meaning protected himself, but he wasn't willing to go that extra step that Trump⁹ wanted him to do.

MASTERS: Do you think the Republican Party needs to kind of be done with Donald Trump?

GASTINEAU: Yes, I do. Yes. But Pence could easily fill those shoes.

MASTERS: Iowa's caucuses have been at the front of the line for both major political parties for the last half-century. Last week, the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee voted to kick Iowa out of that early window, giving South Carolina the first primary, followed by Nevada and New Hampshire on the same day. Georgia and Michigan would follow. One of the loudest supporters for the Iowa Democrats caucuses remaining. First is Jeff Kaufmann. He's chair of the Republican Party of Iowa.

JEFF KAUFMANN: This makes no tactical political sense to poll Iowa. It's just a matter of pure ideology¹⁰, ideas trumping¹¹ something that is inherently an activist¹² and action-oriented endeavor.

MASTERS: Kaufmann also chairs the panel that makes recommendations for the RNC calendar. They're sticking with the status quo of starting in Iowa and then New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. He says this order has lasted partly because the two parties have worked together in the early states. Former President Donald Trump announced he's running for a third time. Trump's pretty popular with Republicans here, but Kaufmann says the party won't pick favorites.

KAUFMANN: If I'm going to sit here and criticize the national Democrats on behalf of my state, well, I need to also be neutral in action and in word if I'm going to save the caucuses in 2028.

MASTERS: But the parties stand to enter new territory with two different calendars. In 2024, Democrats will likely have a non-competitive first primary in South Carolina if President Biden runs for reelection. Rachel Paine Caufield is a political science professor at Drake University in Des Moines. She says President Biden has a major competitive advantage in the DNC's proposed map.

RACHEL PAINE CAUFIELD: It takes a lot of money to run across a lot of states at the same time. So I suspect that this favors establishment candidates, candidates that can amass¹³ huge war chests of money. But it really does, it unleashes¹⁴ a whole bunch of new legal and logistical questions about where resources will be deployed¹⁵.

MASTERS: And with the president suggesting the DNC rework its calendar every four years, which states go first could be a lot more of a political calculation than an ode to tradition. One thing looks certain, though. Republican presidential hopefuls will be at that starting line in Iowa in 2024, even if Democrats are trying out a new course.

For NPR News, I'm Clay Masters in Des Moines.

1 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

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 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 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》

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 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。

7 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

9 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。

10 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

11 trumping   

v.（牌戏）出王牌赢（一牌或一墩）( trump的现在分词 )；吹号公告，吹号庆祝；吹喇叭；捏造

参考例句：

• Reality has a way of trumping art, and human-climate change is very real indeed. 现实总有它的王牌艺术，受人类影响的气候变化的确成了事实。 来自互联网
• This quirky aversion may be a case of psychological security trumping physical comfort. 这种奇怪现象可能是缘于一个心理上的安全感战胜生理上的舒适感的例子。 来自互联网

12 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。

13 amass   

vt.积累，积聚

参考例句：

• How had he amassed his fortune?他是如何积累财富的呢？
• The capitalists amass great wealth by exploiting workers.资本家剥削工人而积累了巨额财富。

14 unleashes   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• These findings qualify the common view that economic growth unleashes myriad discontents. 这些发现，纠正了一个普遍观点，即经济发展使人们尽情宣泄不满。 来自互联网
• This caster unleashes a storm of electric discharge on the enemy. 法师向敌人释放出一片电火花的风暴。 来自互联网

15 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。