经济学人113:活动组织者 政治中的阿拉丁神灯

 　　Campaign organizers

　　活动组织者

　　The political genie¹

　　政治中的“阿拉丁神灯”

　　New and mysterious, the campaign organiser is credited with mighty² powers

　　活动组织者们被认为有一种新的、神秘的伟大力量

　　ROBIN³ MCGHEE's desk is a library of transatlantic electoral wisdom. “The Audacity⁴ to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory”, reads one title. “Respect, Empower, Include”, urges another, a manual for Democratic Party activists⁵ in Colorado. Mr McGhee's choice of literature is apt: although he works for the Liberal Democrats⁶ in Bristol, his job as a professional campaigner is an American import.

　　罗宾·麦吉的书桌像是一个跨大西洋的选举智慧的图书馆。读取一个标题，“无畏的胜利：内幕和巴拉克·奥巴马取得历史性胜利的经验教训”。给另一个在科罗拉多州的民主党积极分子们一个指南，“尊重，授权，包容”。麦吉先生对文学的选择是恰当的：尽管他为布里斯托尔的自由民主党工作，但他作为一个职业竞争者的工作可以说是从美国进口的。

　　Organisers are fairly new to Britain: parties have generally concentrated their paid staff in London, leaving the ground war to candidates and volunteers. But that is changing. The three main parties were all deeply impressed by Mr Obama's presidential machines in 2008 and 2012, which used professional campaigners to cultivate a decentralised army of self-starting local volunteers. All three now have organisers in their target constituencies and in some seats they already hold. Party bosses talk about these hires, who tend to be recent graduates, in reverential tones. “Ah,” they chide⁷ sceptical journalists, “but you haven't considered our organisers.”

　　组织者对英国来说是陌生的：各党派都将他们的成员集中在伦敦，把麻烦留给了候选人和志愿者。但是这种现象正在发生变化。在2008年2012年，三个主要党派都被奥巴马的总统竞选团队深深的影响了，就是用职业竞选者对当地分散的志愿者进行培训。如今，这三个党派在他们的目标选区和已经持有一些席位的地区都有组织者。党派的领导者们常常用一种可敬的语气谈及这些雇工，因为他们往往都是应届毕业生。“啊”，他们斥责那些有怀疑态度的记者们，“你们没有考虑过我们的组织者。”

　　The life of these political operators has its hardships. They receive only basic training before being dispatched to the sticks. On arriving in constituencies, often with little local knowledge, a new organiser must be part management consultant⁸, part social worker, fixing problems and soothing⁹ activists' egos¹⁰. The hours can be long. Some work from rented bedrooms, coffee shops or, in one case, the clinic of a Labour-supporting psychiatrist¹¹. Most endure it all out of party loyalty¹² and personal ambition, seeing organising as the springboard to a political career.

　　这些政治操盘手们的日子过得也颇为艰辛。在他们被派遣到目的地前只接受了基础训练。一到达目的选区，一个对当地不甚了解的组织者经常要时而兼职管理顾问，时而扮演社工，以解决问题同时安抚活动家们的自尊心。时间可能会很长。从租借房间或是咖啡厅，到某些情况下，甚至到一个支持工党的精神病专家的诊所去工作。最能忍受这些的，都是处于对党的忠诚和个人的抱负，把组织活动看做政治生涯中的跳板。

　　For their employers the advantages are more immediate¹³. Prospective¹⁴ MPs increasingly enjoy high-flying jobs (often elsewhere in politics) before running for office, so may have less time to run their own campaigns. Local party machines even in crucial marginal seats can be doddery, disorganised and dominated by the few truculent¹⁵ oddballs inclined to turn up to meetings. Organisers can purportedly¹⁶ inject a dose of youthful dynamism into such outfits¹⁷. They report to national headquarters, so faithfully enact¹⁸ party strategies. They must also hit monthly canvassing¹⁹ targets. The Labour Party circulates rankings comparing organisers' results. Paddy Ashdown, a pugnacious²⁰ grandee²¹, polices the performance of their Lib Dem counterparts.

　　对于他们的雇主来说，带来的益处是更直接的。未来的国会议员在竞选公职前，越来越享受有挑战性的工作（通常是政治中的其他领域），因此，他们可能只有很少的时间运作自己的竞选活动。当地正处于关键边缘时期的政党组织，就会被那些有意将会议声势放大的好斗的有心人士控制，变得只有毫无生气的散兵游勇。而组织者可以给这些组织注入新鲜活力。他们向全国总部报告，并切实的制定党的政策。他们还必须达到每月的游说目标。工党还发布对组织者进行的排名。帕迪·艾什顿，一个好斗的名门望族人士，监督他们自由民主党对手的各方面表现。

　　Three million wishes

　　三百万个愿望

　　Organisers also contribute computer know-how²². Some elderly local activists are not comfortable using the snazzy voter databases purchased at great expense by party headquarters. Hiring people like Mr McGhee ensures that the new technology does not go to waste. In his Bristol office, he scrolls²³ through voter categories, selecting “Labour-leaning”, “pensioners” and “Bishopston ward” and generating a list that can be beamed, via an app, to canvassers' mobile phones.

　　组织者们还要提供电脑技术的援助。一些年纪较大的地方活动人士不习惯使用由全国总部花大价钱购置来的选民数据库。雇用像麦吉先生这样的人确保了新技术不会被浪费。在他布里斯托尔的办公室，他通过滚屏浏览选民类别，选择“劳工意向”，“退休人员”和“毕晓普斯顿的病房”并且生成一个列表，并将这列表通过一个应用程序传送到游说者的手机中。

　　Besides persuading existing party members to get their act together, organisers are supposed to recruit new ones. Following the Obama playbook, that means asking members to invite friends, relatives and co-workers to meetings on local issues like bus services and child care. “A bit like a pyramid scheme,” says one British party strategist, only half-joking. Churches, mosques²⁴, neighbourhood watch schemes and trade unions also provide routes to prospective supporters. Partly for this reason (but mostly in response to a vote-rigging scandal in a candidate selection last year) on March 1st Labour reformed its long-standing relationship with the unions to give local parties and organisers direct access to individual union members.

　　除了说服现有的党员来共同行动，组织者们还要招募新人。而由奥巴马的“剧本”可知，那意味着成员要去邀请他们的朋友、亲人和同事来参与会议，讨论有关巴士服务和儿童保育等当地话题。“有点像传销”，一个英国的党派战略家半开玩笑的这样说道。教堂、清真寺、邻里守望计划和工会也给未来的支持者们提供路线。部分因为这个原因（但大部分是为回应去年在候选人竞选中的选举舞弊丑闻），在3月1日，工党和工会改变了其长期合作的关系，这给予了当地政党和组织者们对个别的工会成员直接访问的机会。

　　But the new methods may not be all they are cracked up to be. America's earnest, decentralised political culture does not always appeal to starchy Britons. In the last two presidential elections, Mr Obama's supporters held hundreds of house parties at which they implored²⁵ their friends to support the campaign. In his ill-fated bid for the leadership of the Labour Party in 2010, David Miliband attempted to import this practice to Britain. Few supporters took up the invitation, which was widely mocked.

　　但新方法可能并不像他们吹捧的那样。美国式的认真的、分散的政治文化并不总是吸引着拘谨的英国人。在过去的两次总统选举中，奥巴马先生的支持者们举办了数百次的家庭聚会以恳求他们的朋友来支持这个选举。大卫·米利班德曾试图尝试将奥巴马在2010年几经波折的争取工党领导的方式引进英国并予以实施。而其结果却是几乎没有人接受此邀请，这件事也作为笑话流传开来。

　　And though campaign organisers are meant to revive local political volunteering, they might have the opposite effect. The arrival of one of these miracle-workers in a constituency risks giving harried²⁶ candidates and disengaged activists the perfect opportunity to dump boring grunt²⁷ work like canvassing and envelope-stuffing on the new recruit. If they do, organisers could end up speeding the professionalisation of politics, which they were supposed to be reversing.

　　虽然活动组织者的意愿是为了振兴当地的政治自愿活动，但他们可能会产生相反的效果。在候选区从这些创造奇迹的工作人员中过来的一个能给那些忙碌的候选人和积极分子带来摆脱像游说和招募新人等枯燥繁重工作的机会。如果他们这样做，组织者们可能会停止加速政治的职业化，这正是他们所期望被扭转的。译者：张娣 校对：邵林

1 genie   

n.妖怪，神怪

参考例句：

• Now the genie of his darkest and weakest side was speaking.他心灵中最阴暗最软弱的部分有一个精灵在说话。
• He had to turn to the Genie of the Ring for help.他不得不向戒指神求助。

2 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

3 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

4 audacity   

n.大胆，卤莽，无礼

参考例句：

• He had the audacity to ask for an increase in salary.他竟然厚着脸皮要求增加薪水。
• He had the audacity to pick pockets in broad daylight.他竟敢在光天化日之下掏包。

5 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》

6 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》

7 chide   

v.叱责；谴责

参考例句：

• However,they will chide you if you try to speak French.然而，如果你试图讲法语，就会遭到他们的责骂。
• He thereupon privately chide his wife for her forwardness in the matter.于是他私下责备他的妻子，因为她对这种事热心。

8 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

9 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。

10 egos   

自我，自尊，自负( ego的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their egos are so easily bruised. 他们的自尊心很容易受到伤害。
• The belief in it issues from the puerile egos of inferior men. 这种信仰是下等人幼稚的自私意识中产生的。

11 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

12 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

13 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

14 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

15 truculent   

adj.野蛮的，粗野的

参考例句：

• He was seen as truculent,temperamental,too unwilling to tolerate others.他们认为他为人蛮横无理，性情暴躁，不大能容人。
• He was in no truculent state of mind now.这会儿他心肠一点也不狠毒了。

16 purportedly   

adv.据称

参考例句：

• This is purportedly the oldest tree in the world. 据称这是世界上最古老的一棵树。 来自互联网
• Mayor Oh Se-Hoon launched the campaign last year, purportedly to improve efficiency. 据悉，首尔市市长吴世勋于去年提出了这项旨在提高工作效率的计划。 来自互联网

17 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句

18 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

19 canvassing   

v.（在政治方面）游说( canvass的现在分词 )；调查（如选举前选民的）意见；为讨论而提出（意见等）；详细检查

参考例句：

• He spent the whole month canvassing for votes. 他花了整整一个月四处游说拉选票。
• I'm canvassing for the Conservative Party. 我在为保守党拉选票。 来自辞典例句

20 pugnacious   

adj.好斗的

参考例句：

• He is a pugnacious fighter.他是个好斗的战士。
• When he was a child,he was pugnacious and fought with everyone.他小时候很好斗，跟每个人都打过架。

21 grandee   

n.贵族；大公

参考例句：

• He is a former defence secretary of the United States and a grandee of the Democratic Party.他是美国前国防部长，也是民主党的显要人物。
• The highest-ranking member of the spanish aristocracy is the grandee.西班牙贵族中爵位最高的成员乃是大公。

22 know-how   

n.知识；技术；诀窍

参考例句：

• He hasn't got the know-how to run a farm.他没有经营农场的专业知识。
• I don't have much know-how about engines.发动机方面的技术知识我知之甚少。

23 scrolls   

n.（常用于录写正式文件的）纸卷( scroll的名词复数 )；卷轴；涡卷形（装饰）；卷形花纹v.（电脑屏幕上）从上到下移动（资料等），卷页( scroll的第三人称单数 )；（似卷轴般）卷起；（像展开卷轴般地）将文字显示于屏幕

参考例句：

• Either turn it off or only pick up selected stuff like wands, rings and scrolls. 把他关掉然后只捡你需要的物品，像是魔杖(wand)，戒指(rings)和滚动条(scrolls)。 来自互联网
• Ancient scrolls were found in caves by the Dead Sea. 死海旁边的山洞里发现了古代的卷轴。 来自辞典例句

24 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

25 implored   

恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She implored him to stay. 她恳求他留下。
• She implored him with tears in her eyes to forgive her. 她含泪哀求他原谅她。

26 harried   

v.使苦恼( harry的过去式和过去分词 )；不断烦扰；一再袭击；侵扰

参考例句：

• She has been harried by the press all week. 整个星期她都受到新闻界的不断烦扰。
• The soldiers harried the enemy out of the country. 士兵们不断作骚扰性的攻击直至把敌人赶出国境为止。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 grunt   

v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝

参考例句：

• He lifted the heavy suitcase with a grunt.他咕噜着把沉重的提箱拎了起来。
• I ask him what he think,but he just grunt.我问他在想什麽，他只哼了一声。