美国国家公共电台 NPR--The history of a contentious U.S. Congress

The history of a contentious¹ U.S. Congress

Transcript²

Newly elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's 15 rounds of voting were the most a speaker has endured since the 1850s. What does the politically fraught³ ascent⁴ mean for McCarthy?

DWANE BROWN, HOST:

Kevin McCarthy's 15 rounds of voting were the most any speaker has endured since 1859. It took 44 rounds back then, and it took place as the country was edging toward civil war. Let's dig into what that history tells us now and what it might mean for McCarthy. NPR's senior editor and correspondent Ron Elving joins us this morning. Hey, Ron. Fifteen ballots⁵ seems like a lot. It was a lot in terms of recent congressional history, no?

RON ELVING, BYLINE⁶: It was, indeed. There had been only one occasion, Dwane, since the Civil War where it took more than a single round of voting to elect a speaker. And that one exception had been a hundred years ago, in 1923. Back then, the Republican Party was dealing⁷ with deep divisions within its own ranks and also working out its response in response or reaction to a rather disappointing election. So a time much like our own.

BROWN: Yeah, and a hundred years doesn't seem like that long ago now when we look at what happened over the weekend. But while we're counting, Ron, what was the record for this kind of - I heard it described as mud fighting. What was the longest it ever took to get a speaker?

ELVING: Well, they went 44 rounds in 1859, which was the last speakership election to happen before Abraham Lincoln became president.

BROWN: Wow.

ELVING: But a few years earlier, in 1855, the House had needed 133 rounds of voting to elect a speaker, and that process went on literally⁸ for months.

BROWN: Wow. So protracted⁹, took a long time. Could this be called a dress rehearsal¹⁰ for the war that's about to come?

ELVING: Well, absolutely. And back then, they were building up to the Civil War that had been building for decades. Slavery was the reason it took 63 rounds to get a speaker in 1849, when Congress was fixated on the expansion of slavery in the new territories following the Mexican-American War that had just ended. But even 30 years earlier than that, Congress had been hung up for 22 rounds as the North and South were hashing out what became the Missouri Compromise of 1820.

BROWN: So, Ron, it seems like from what you just said that the - after the Civil War, the process of actually choosing a speaker became less contentious?

ELVING: There were still plenty of fights and rivalries¹¹, but as a rule, they were resolved before the whole House met to vote for speaker.

BROWN: Yeah.

ELVING: They were taken care of inside the parties. And after the war, the number of parties in Congress was greatly reduced. Basically, they got down to the two we have today. And that meant that most of the time, one party or the other had a clear majority, and that party's leader would be speaker.

BROWN: And often, these speakers were quite powerful even back then - right? - either as allies or rivals of the president.

ELVING: Yes. In the last 150 years, they often had enormous influence. And in recent years, we've seen speakers trying to restore some of that stature¹² to the office but with mixed success. One big reason is that contemporary members of Congress don't feel as much obligation to the party, and they don't feel as much obligation to the leadership to do what they're asked to do.

BROWN: Yeah. Ron, so it took 15 rounds this time to elect McCarthy. Why don't we see this kind of unanimous vote for the speaker anymore?

ELVING: We don't see it anymore because the people individually in Congress see themselves as more important than they see the party and its larger agenda.

BROWN: NPR's Ron Elving. Thank you, buddy¹³.

ELVING: Thank you, Dwane.

BROWN: Have a great day.

1 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

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 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

4 ascent   

n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高

参考例句：

• His rapid ascent in the social scale was surprising.他的社会地位提高之迅速令人吃惊。
• Burke pushed the button and the elevator began its slow ascent.伯克按动电钮，电梯开始缓慢上升。

5 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》

6 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。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 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。

9 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

11 rivalries   

n.敌对，竞争，对抗( rivalry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new government was torn by rivalries. 新政府由于各派对立而四分五裂。 来自辞典例句
• Rivalries could bring about pain and hatred or give rise to fighting. 竞争会带来痛苦、仇恨，或者引起争斗。 来自互联网

12 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

13 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！