美国国家公共电台 NPR--How have Arizona Sen. Krysten Sinema's politics evolved over the years?

How have Arizona Sen. Krysten Sinema's politics evolved over the years?

Transcript¹

NPR's Rob Schmitz speaks with Ronald Hansen, national political reporter for The Arizona Republic, about Sen. Krysten Sinema leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent.

ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:

Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema has announced she's leaving the party to become an independent. She's always been an independent thinker in a state that proudly encouraged so-called maverick³ politicians. Let's talk more about this with Ron Hansen, national political reporter with the Arizona Republic. Good morning, Ron.

RON HANSEN, BYLINE⁴: Good morning.

SCHMITZ: So you've covered Senator Sinema for a long time. She's always been resistant⁵ to labels and expectations. How have her politics evolved over the years?

HANSEN: You know, she began in state government in a 2002 run that didn't succeed with voters. And she ran as a Green Party candidate. And she was very vocal⁶ during the invasion of Iraq and opposed that maneuver⁷ at the time. She ran as a Democrat² in 2004 for the state house, won and began the first of three terms - or four terms there, where she kind of moved from someone who was active in trying to, you know, pull together a liberal agenda and then kind of drifted more to the pragmatic lane where she felt like she could actually get some legislation passed at the time, which is rare for Democrats⁸ in Arizona.

SCHMITZ: Right. And some are saying that Arizona Democrats themselves pushed her out of the party. You know, we know that protesters have followed her, filmed her, taunted⁹ her for years. Do you think there's any validity to that having led to her departure?

HANSEN: You know, I think it's a case of both sides, really, were uncomfortable with each other. Kyrsten Sinema has worked a room full of Republicans or business leaders who probably leaned to the right many times. I've seen her chat with people like Andy Biggs or Matt Salmon¹⁰, both very conservative congressmen. And she's comfortable in that kind of environment. With Democrats, it was harder to find her, especially in recent years, in anything that would be an unscripted kind of event that was open to activists¹¹, the grassroots types. She really didn't participate in those kind of state meetings where things could go further to the left. It was just clear that both sides really didn't want to hear what the other wanted on some things that were pressure points for them.

SCHMITZ: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders says that he suspects Sinema left the Democrats for political aspirations¹². What do you think he means by that?

HANSEN: I suspect he means that this is purely¹³ a poll-driven exercise by someone who knew she could not win a Democratic primary. There's a fair amount of polling that has come out in recent days since her announcement that suggests that her popularity had sunk so low that there was very low chance that she could win a Democratic primary. This kind of extends it. She would be on the ballot¹⁴ in November as an independent if she chooses to run and sort of continues her viability¹⁵ at least a bit longer if things don't break in a dramatic way.

SCHMITZ: In an op-ed in the Arizona Republic, which is your paper, on Friday, Senator Sinema wrote, Americans are told that we must subscribe¹⁶ wholesale¹⁷ to policy views the parties hold, views that have been pulled further and further towards the extremes. Is that a popular view in Arizona?

HANSEN: It seems like that's a good message that she is saying, that she rejects extremism in both parties. That's the kind of thing that is consistent with the independent label that she now officially wears. And, you know, it's consistent with her legislative¹⁸ record, especially in the past year, where she has worked with both parties to try and pull together some pretty significant legislation. What that means as a practical matter on the ground is a little harder to figure. She doesn't really work closely with Democratic activists, as I said earlier. And her allies in the Senate on the Democratic side have been a little harder to find. She does have a decent relationship with Senator Mark Kelly. She worked to get him reelected here in Arizona in November. But it's been more in a behind-the-scenes capacity.

SCHMITZ: And quickly, Senator Sinema has said she will continue to caucus¹⁹ with the Democrats and vote with them on both issues. How do you expect her departure will impact the Democrats' agenda in the Senate?

HANSEN: You know, in the Senate, I think that it can - it keeps them on a path that they can move forward with, legislate²⁰ with, judicial²¹ nominees²² and that sort of thing. But with the Republicans taking the House, it's going to be hard for the Democrats to move much farther legislatively²³. The filibuster²⁴ is the thing that really created a lot of angst and anger for Democratic activists. In some ways, that becomes moot²⁵ with a Republican House.

SCHMITZ: That's Ron Hansen of the Arizona Republic. Thank you so much for taking your time.

HANSEN: Thank you.

1 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。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 maverick   

adj.特立独行的；不遵守传统的；n.持异议者，自行其是者

参考例句：

• He's a maverick.He has his own way of thinking about things.他是个特异独行的人。对事情有自己的看法。
• You're a maverick and you'll try anything.你是个爱自行其是的人，样样事情都要尝试一下。

4 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。

5 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

6 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

7 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

8 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》

9 taunted   

嘲讽( taunt的过去式和过去分词 )； 嘲弄； 辱骂； 奚落

参考例句：

• The other kids continually taunted him about his size. 其他孩子不断地耻笑他的个头儿。
• Some of the girls taunted her about her weight. 有些女孩子笑她胖。

10 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

11 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

13 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

14 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

15 viability   

n.存活(能力)

参考例句：

• What is required to achieve or maintain such viability? 要达到或维持这种生存能力需要什么？
• Scientists are experimenting to find ways to ensure the viability of seeds for even longer periods of time. 正如我们所说，科学家正在试验努力寻找让种子的生命力更加延长的方法。

16 subscribe   

vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助

参考例句：

• I heartily subscribe to that sentiment.我十分赞同那个观点。
• The magazine is trying to get more readers to subscribe.该杂志正大力发展新订户。

17 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

18 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

19 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。

20 legislate   

vt.制定法律；n.法规，律例；立法

参考例句：

• Therefore,it is very urgent to legislate for the right of privacy.因此，为隐私权立法刻不容缓。
• It's impossible to legislate for every contingency.为每一偶发事件都立法是不可能的。

21 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

22 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

23 legislatively   

adv.立法地

参考例句：

• Indeed, experience with the legislatively imposed hybrid procedures has not been encouraging. 的确，立法规定的混合型程序的经历并不令人感到鼓舞。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• The criminal pattern kidnapping and killing the kidnapped person is contained and aggravated crime legislatively. 从犯罪形态来看，“杀害被绑架人”的立法属于包容加重犯。 来自互联网

24 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

25 moot   

v.提出；adj.未决议的；n.大会；辩论会

参考例句：

• The question mooted in the board meeting is still a moot point.那个在董事会上提出讨论的问题仍未决的。
• The oil versus nuclear equation is largely moot.石油和核能之间的关系还很有争议。