美国国家公共电台 NPR--Young Republicans warn the party to promote issues that young voters care about

Young Republicans warn the party to promote issues that young voters care about

Transcript¹

Most young voters cast their ballots² for Democratic candidates in last month's midterm elections. Now, young Republicans are demanding change from their party to keep up with their generation.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

One of the takeaways from the midterm elections last month - a majority of young voters, millennials and members of Generation Z, cast their ballots for Democratic candidates. Now young Republicans are demanding change from their party in order to keep up with their generation. Here to tell us all about it is NPR's Elena Moore. So what are young Republicans telling their party?

ELENA MOORE, BYLINE³: First and foremost, they're paying attention to this exit polling. Nationally, over 60% of voters under 30 cast their ballots for Democrats⁴ this midterms, which is the second-highest youth turnout for Democrats after the 2018 midterms. And that's pretty notable. One of the conservatives I talked to about this was former congressional candidate Karoline Leavitt, who's 25. Leavitt lost her race in November. But as a member of Gen Z herself, she takes this all very seriously, calling it, you know, the greatest challenge for the Republican Party today.

KAROLINE LEAVITT: It's more than one candidate or one campaign can handle. It needs to be a colossal⁵ shift in the messaging in the mediums utilized⁶ by the GOP and the establishment. And it's discouraging to see, you know, the Republican establishment not even acknowledge that this problem exists.

MOORE: Leavitt's arguing that Republicans need to both improve their online outreach strategy and actively⁷ highlight issues that young people care about, like protecting the environment and reducing the cost of housing and even going to college.

MART?NEZ: Couldn't help notice that abortion⁸ was not on that list. That was a big issue, a big one for Democrats in the midterms. How does that play into young Republicans' strategy here?

MOORE: Right. Right. A., it's a big challenge. Pollsters and voter data experts tell me that protecting abortion access is key to maintaining support among these younger voters, since it was such a big issue this past election. So I asked another young conservative about this, 25-year-old Iowa House Representative Joe Mitchell. And he told me Republicans really can't shy away from discussing divisive issues like abortion. And Mitchell himself, by the way, voted to restrict abortion access in the state legislature. But he made a similar point on addressing climate change and gun violence, too.

JOE MITCHELL: Coming front and center on these issues to say, no, we believe in, you know, reasonable exceptions for these sorts of things. We believe in having a more renewable energy future when that works and when that's appropriate. And, obviously, we want to make sure that kids are safe in school. And we just have different ideas of how to protect them.

MOORE: And Mitchell went on to tell me that taking these social issues head on is important when they're asked about, instead of having Republican stances oversimplified by Democrats, opponents, the like.

MART?NEZ: Now, the thing is, though, the political parties are drenched⁹ and entrenched¹⁰ in tradition. They wear it like a coat of molasses. All right, so how can younger conservative influencers shake up institutions that maybe aren't easily changed?

MOORE: Well, that's what they're trying to figure out. We did reach out to the Republican National Committee. They did not respond to NPR's request for comment on this story. But, you know, long story short, A., it's going to be a difficult balance. You see from Leavitt and Mitchell that social issues seem to, you know, at least be part of the way into getting this younger generation engaged. But as one Republican pollster put to me, social issues don't hand victories to Republican candidates the same way economic issues do. And that means it's a limited pool of resources. It's about where the money gets spent. Why spend money on engaging with a new age group, young voters, who aren't reliably conservative and historically aren't even reliable voters when older voters consistently vote Republican and turn out at higher rates?

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's Elena Moore. Elena, thanks.

MOORE: Thanks, A.

(SOUNDBITE OF ROHNE'S "TWELVE")

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 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

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 colossal   

adj.异常的，庞大的

参考例句：

• There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
• Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。

6 utilized   

v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In the19th century waterpower was widely utilized to generate electricity. 在19世纪人们大规模使用水力来发电。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The empty building can be utilized for city storage. 可以利用那栋空建筑物作城市的仓库。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

8 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。

9 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。