美国国家公共电台 NPR--Georgia's primary is expected to be a litmus test for the Republican Party

Georgia's primary is expected to be a litmus test for the Republican Party

Transcript¹

The questions in the primary are whether former President Trump²'s endorsements³ can secure candidates' victories, and whether there are lingering effects from his 2020 election lies.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Today's Republican primary in Georgia is shaping up to be a big test. How firm is former President Donald Trump's grip on the Republican Party, and how many voters will embrace the big lie about his defeat in 2020? Georgia was one of the states Trump tried to overturn after he lost it, and the leading Republican candidates for governor have taken opposite views on this, one in favor of facts, the other against them. Politics reporter Sam Gringlas of WABE in Atlanta is covering the primary. Sam, good morning.

SAM GRINGLAS, BYLINE⁴: Hi, Steve. Good morning.

INSKEEP: How did the race between Governor Brian Kemp and his primary challenger, David Perdue, take on larger significance?

GRINGLAS: Well, I think the most important thing you need to know is that Perdue is running with Trump's support, and it was actually Trump who urged Perdue to take on Kemp in the first place. It wasn't always this way. Trump actually endorsed⁵ Kemp in 2018, but then the 2020 election happened, and Trump says Kemp just didn't do enough to help him overturn the election result in Georgia. And so Trump has spent the last year or so just bashing Kemp at every turn. And following Trump's lead, Perdue has premised his entire campaign on this false claim that the 2020 election was stolen. I mean, you just have to literally⁶ listen to his first words at a debate last month, and that tells you what you need to know.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DAVID PERDUE: First off, folks, let me be very clear tonight. The election in 2020 was rigged and stolen.

GRINGLAS: And Trump has endorsed primary candidates up and down the ballot⁷ who are spreading these same false claims.

INSKEEP: And their support is certainly not zero. We interviewed Georgia voters on this program a few days ago and found a number who were ready to vote for Trump again if they could do it. So how large is his influence in this primary?

GRINGLAS: You know, I have met some of those same kind of voters as well. But if we take a few hints from what we're seeing in this governor's race, Kemp has been leading Perdue in the polls. Perdue's fundraising and spending have dried up somewhat. And the reality is that Kemp is an incumbent⁸ governor who is popular with conservatives. You know, he signed legislation like cutting taxes, restricting abortion⁹, expanding access to guns. And now Kemp is kind of looking beyond Perdue and beyond 2020 to a rematch with Democrat¹⁰ Stacey Abrams this fall. There's this line that Kemp uses at a lot of campaign events where he talks about the race against Abrams as being a battle for the soul of Georgia. And he repeated it again at a rally last night with former Vice¹¹ President Mike Pence.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BRIAN KEMP: This family has been getting up every single day to make sure that Stacey Abrams is not going to be our governor or the next president.

(APPLAUSE)

GRINGLAS: And you know, that's been convincing for a lot of voters. I met Linda Dickerson when Kemp was campaigning at an apple orchard¹².

LINDA DICKERSON: I like President Trump, but he can say some pretty mean things, and I don't always agree with what he says.

GRINGLAS: Dickerson told me she has been impressed with how Kemp has handled the economy, and Trump saying otherwise just is not going to be enough to change her vote.

INSKEEP: You know, we also heard voters in recent days from both parties when we were going around saying they respect Kemp because he acknowledged reality. I even heard of Democrats¹³ who were thinking of crossing over in the primary to vote for him, as they could do in Georgia. What are you hearing?

GRINGLAS: Well, so far from early vote data, we're seeing that somewhere around 40,000 people who voted in the Democratic primary back in 2020 pulled a GOP ballot in this primary. So it's not necessarily that they are going to vote for Kemp in November, but maybe they feel really strongly about Perdue not being the nominee¹⁴ who has, you know, made these false claims. But, you know, Linda Dickerson, that voter from the apple orchard - she told me she does believe there was widespread election fraud in 2020. She just does not blame Kemp for it. Then there's also voters like Robert Duffy. He told me he went with Trump in 2016 and in 2020 but would not vote for him again. He says he's just tired of relitigating the last election.

ROBERT DUFFY: It's a bit of a turnoff at this point. Why are we looking back at this point? I think it's deterring¹⁵ our efforts in the Republican Party to move forward.

GRINGLAS: But I think this primary is not only a test of whether Trump is still the most important player in GOP politics. It's also about whether Trump's false claims about election fraud will outlast¹⁶ him.

INSKEEP: Well, you mentioned Mike Pence showing up for Kemp yesterday. He's a possible presidential contender himself, drawing a contrast with Trump. What makes Georgia a good place for Pence to do that?

GRINGLAS: You know, this primary in Georgia has turned into somewhat of a proxy¹⁷ battle over the future of the Republican Party. Pence was here last night, kind of stepping out from the shadow of his former boss. But at the same time, Georgia is on the cusp of political change - voted for Biden in 2020, and there is a Senate seat on the line too.

INSKEEP: WABE's Sam Gringlas, thanks for your insights.

GRINGLAS: Thanks, Steve.

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 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。

3 endorsements   

n.背书( endorsement的名词复数 )；（驾驶执照上的）违章记录；（公开的）赞同；（通常为名人在广告中对某一产品的）宣传

参考例句：

• He must make much money on those tennis shoe endorsements he does. 他替那些网球鞋珍重广告，就赚了不少钱。 来自互联网
• But celebrity endorsements remain an important promotional tool for marketers. 尽管如此，邀明星助阵仍是营销人员重要的推广手段之一。 来自互联网

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 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 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。

11 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。

12 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

13 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》

14 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

15 deterring   

v.阻止，制止( deter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• However, investors say are a number of issues deterring business. 然而，投资者表示，有很多问题让他们却步。 来自互联网
• It's an effective way of deterring potential does online, the logic goes. 逻辑上这是抑制潜在线上威胁的有效方法。 来自互联网

16 outlast   

v.较…耐久

参考例句：

• The great use of life is to spend it doing something that will outlast it.人生的充分利用就是为争取比人生更长久的东西而度过一生。
• These naturally dried flowers will outlast a bouquet of fresh blooms.这些自然风干的花会比一束鲜花更加持久。

17 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。