美国国家公共电台 NPR--Iowa's Finkenauer aims for a return to Congress, this time by toppling Sen. Grassley

Iowa's Finkenauer aims for a return to Congress, this time by toppling Sen. Grassley

Transcript¹

Seven states hold primaries on Tuesday, including Iowa, where three Democrats² are competing to challenge longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley.

One of those vying³ for that chance is former Rep. Abby Finkenauer, who defeated a Republican incumbent⁴ in 2018 and then served in the U.S. House of Representatives for just one term before losing her reelection bid two years ago.

Now, at age 33, Finkenauer is facing a tougher-than-expected U.S. Senate primary in a state that has become more of a GOP stronghold in the last decade.

Generational differences

Finkenauer regularly points out generational differences between her and Grassley, who is 88 years old, when talking on the campaign trail about issues like abortion⁵ rights, college debt and gun restrictions⁶.

On the day after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Finkenauer made a campaign stop in the Mississippi River town of Dubuque. She talked about how she's lived most of her life with school shootings happening in America.

"I was 10 years old when Columbine happened," Finkenauer said to a small crowd gathered at Dimensional Brewing⁷. "Sen. Grassley had already been in Washington, D.C., at that point for 23 years."

She told the crowd they already know where she stands on guns, like when she "proudly voted for H.R. 8 closing the background check loophole and also supporting red flag laws."

Voters like Tom Townesend want Finkenauer back in Washington. He introduced her at the Dubuque campaign stop.

"The whole time she was in Congress she was working on issues that are important to building trades," said Townesend, who is with a local electrical workers union. "She has always been a great friend to union people."

A challenge from Franken

But Finkenauer has had some setbacks in this race. She almost didn't make it onto the primary ballot⁸ after a pair of Republican activists⁹ challenged her nominating petitions. It went all the way up to the Iowa Supreme¹⁰ Court.

Also, one of her two opponents is staying competitive in his fundraising numbers.

Retired¹¹ Navy Adm. Mike Franken served in the military for nearly 40 years and came back to Iowa ahead of the 2020 election and ran unsuccessfully for his party's nomination¹² in a different U.S. Senate race.

The 64-year-old says he decided¹³ to throw his hat in the ring again, for this contest, following the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.

"Having worked overseas and defended the American way of life and worked for this country so hard, I thought as life becomes more compressed over the age of 60, things that you do are more meaningful," Franken said. "I can't think of anything more meaningful than to provide my expertise¹⁴ to maintain democracy in this country, because I saw it under threat."

Al Simon is voting for Franken. Simon came to see Franken take questions from voters about foreign policy at an event in Des Moines last week. He thinks Franken is better equipped to beat Grassley.

"I think Grassley's been there too long," Simon said. "And I've been in the military so I respect Franken for being an admiral."

Democrats blame misinformation for rural struggles

But Democrats have lost a lot of ground in Iowa over the last decade, especially in rural Iowa.

The third candidate, Glenn Hurst, is a physician and city council member from a small town in western Iowa. He's running as a more progressive candidate and makes the case for his party not to keep elevating moderates to run for statewide office.

"If you keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, that's insanity," Hurst said, paraphrasing¹⁵ Albert Einstein. "I think we've got to do something different. Otherwise, we're gonna have the same results."

Both Franken and Finkenauer say Democrats have struggled in rural Iowa in part because so many residents are plugged into right-wing echo chambers¹⁶. Both were running in 2020 and say the information environment was made worse when the pandemic was new and Democrats weren't out campaigning like Republicans.

"We didn't know what to do because we're in the middle of this pandemic," Finkenauer said. "We didn't know could we go door to door [and] what was safe, what wasn't. In the meantime, folks spent a lot of time in places like Facebook. And so the misinformation was really, really thick."

This year, in-person political activities are back across Iowa and local activists like Dan Callahan, who chairs the Democratic Party in rural Buchanan County, say that will keep voters engaged.

"These people are energized," Callahan said during a Buchanan County fundraiser in late April, where candidates spoke¹⁷ to dozens of supporters. "They'll come to the meetings, donate money, volunteer, make the phone calls [and] knock on the doors, which we weren't allowed to do last time."

Even though Democrats have a playbook that feels more like business-as-usual, whoever wins the primary will likely face a tough race in November.

Grassley, who faces minor¹⁸ opposition¹⁹ in the GOP primary, is running for his eighth term in the U.S. Senate to represent a state that Republicans have tightened²⁰ their grip on in recent elections.

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 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》

3 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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

7 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

8 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。

9 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》

10 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

11 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

12 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

15 paraphrasing   

v.释义，意译( paraphrase的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I'm paraphrasing but this is honestly what he said. 我是在转述，但这的确是他说的意思。 来自柯林斯例句

16 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

17 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

18 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

19 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

20 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。