经济学人323:反对派调查 电子版发奸擿伏

 　　Opposition¹ research

　　反对派调查

　　Digging dirt, digitally

　　电子版发奸擿伏

　　How to ensure that dumb things politicians say get a wide audience

　　怎样保证政客们把持的那些不为人知叫座连连

　　One of the houses the Clintons bought when they were “dead broke”WHEN Bruce Braley, a little-known Iowa Democrat², dismissed Senator Charles Grassley as “a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school” (a description that fits a lot of Iowa voters), he may not have expected his remarks to be posted online. He should have. America Rising, a firm that conducts “opposition research” on behalf of Republicans, was delighted to disseminate³ his gaffe⁴, since Mr Braley is running in Iowa for an open US Senate seat.

　　克林顿夫妇的其中一所房子是在他们山穷水尽时购置的，当时正值来自洛瓦的一名叫做布鲁斯 布拉里的民主党无名小卒称议员查尔斯 格拉斯利是一名从未步入法律院校大门的农民（这种描述对于很多洛瓦选民同样适用），他做梦都不会想到他的言论会在网上曝光，但他早就该有所准备。共和党代表美国崛起公司专门从事反对派的调查活动，它为此欢呼雀跃，奔走呼告，因为布拉里当时正在竞选美国议员席位。

　　疯狂的政客.jpg

　　The recording⁵, made as Mr Braley was soliciting⁶ donations from trial lawyers, has hobbled his campaign.Opposition research is as old as politics itself—Cicero's orations⁷ against Catiline, a dodgy candidate for the Roman consulship⁸ in 63BC, were notably⁹ well-informed. But some parties are better than others at “oppo”, as it is now called. Democrats¹⁰ outdid Republicans in 2012 thanks partly to the professionalism of American Bridge 21st Century (“Bridge”), which was set up in 2010 and is backed by George Soros, a financier, and others. Bridge prepared dossiers on prominent Republicans and sent staffers to film Republican candidates' every move, waiting to pounce¹¹ on ill-chosen words.

　　录音中，布拉里正向辩护律师寻求资金支持，这使他的竞选活动深陷沼泽，反对派调查的发展历史与政治人士本身不相上下，其最早可追溯到时西塞罗与喀提林一场人尽皆知的辩论，喀提林是公元前63年罗马执政官的竞选者，巧舌如簧。但是在“opp”中（如今人们这么称呼他），一些党派真是鹤立鸡群，如“21世纪美国之桥”（“桥”），其内部专业人士在2012年民主党击败共和党中立了大功，2010年它在金融学家乔治索罗斯和其他一些人的支持下创立，它建立一些声名显赫的共和党人的档案，派遣成员记录下共和党竞选者的一举一动，并大肆渲染每一个错用的单词。

　　It worked. Bridge circulated a video of Todd Akin¹², a Missouri Republican running for the Senate, using the phrase “legitimate rape”. Mr Akin later said he meant “forcible”, not “legitimate”, but the gaffe probably cost him the election.

　　这招确实奏效，它曾制作了一部密苏里共和党议员候选人都德阿金的视频，视频中他使用了“合情理强奸”一词，后来他说它是指“强制性强奸”不是“合情理”，但这种错误还是造成其落选。

　　O tempora, o mores¹³

　　啊,时代呀!啊,风尚呀!

　　For the presidential campaign, Bridge helped to drive a national conversation about Republican nominee¹⁴ Mitt¹⁵ Romney's past in private equity¹⁶, allowing Barack Obama to benefit from bare-knuckle capitalist-bashing without having to roll up his own sleeves. Bridge is now gearing up for this year's congressional races; it reports raising and spending over 2.6m in the first three months of 2014.

　　在总统选举中，该组织同样推动了一场关于共和党提名人选罗姆尼私募股权的过去，其结果是，奥巴马不费丝毫力气，借了资本家抨击的刀，坐收渔翁之利。如今，美国之桥正在为今年的国会选举整装待发，它的报道量攀升，在2014年的前三个月的开支便达到了260万美元。

　　After Mr Romney lost, Republican grandees¹⁷ were determined¹⁸ to build a national rival to Bridge. Matt Rhoades, a former Romney campaign manager, joined Tim Miller¹⁹ and Joe Pounder, former Republican National Committee officials, to lead the way. They took 100,000 from the remnants of a pro-Romney campaign fund and more cash from big donors²⁰, and set about hiring researchers and “trackers”.

　　自从罗姆尼失利后，共和党政要便一心想要为美国之桥树立劲敌，在这一点上，罗姆尼阵营前领导者马特罗迪斯和共和党国家委员会成员蒂姆 米勒，琼 鲍德携手开创了先河，他们从支持罗姆尼的资金余额中拿出10万美元，又向捐助者大量集资，正着手雇佣研究和记录人员。

　　America Rising hopes that its investigations²² and ever-expanding store of video footage will help Republicans, or at least force Democrats to watch what they say. “Back in the old days, Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu a Democrat could go down to Louisiana and say one thing about her position on energy, and then go talk to some liberal donors and say another thing,” says Mr Miller.More or less every word a candidate says now lives online somewhere. So groups like Rising and Bridge can build enormous, searchable databases of their opponents' statements and systematically²³ search for contradictions.

　　“美国崛起”希望，调查的增加和视频的堆积会助共和党一臂之力或至少也让民主党对其所言小心谨慎，米勒说“在过去，路易斯安那民主党议员玛丽， 可以来到路易斯安那州对于他的立场大放厥词，但在一些自由捐助人士面前却抛射另一套理论。”可以说，在当今这个社会里，竞选人所说的每一个单词在网络上都有迹可循，因此，崛起和桥一类的组织都能建立一套有关他们对手言论的数据库，容量巨大，搜寻便利，可用来系统的搜索与之对立的信息。

　　When they find one, they can alert reporters, or sympathetic activists²⁴ who can then create ads or web campaigns exploiting the discovery. Both Rising and Bridge are constantly in touch with these other groups, coordinating²⁵ their attacks. The most valuable employee is no longer a loyalist willing to trail a candidate for months, but a skilled digital researcher.The two oppo groups are already building cases against possible presidential candidates for 2016.

　　一旦他们捕捉到什么，他们便告知记者或与之同呼吸的激进分子，这些人利用广告或网络活动深入挖掘发现的用处，崛起和桥都和其他组织紧密相连，协调攻击。最有价值的雇员不再是那种心甘情愿跟踪一个竞选者长达几个月的人，而是一个技术精湛的电子调查员。这两个反对党派组织已经在积蓄力量，其目标就是可能于2016年参选的竞选人。

　　Bridge has been digging for dirt on New Jersey²⁶ Governor Chris Christie, some of it relating to a traffic jam on a bridge that his aides are alleged²⁷ to have caused to punish a mayor who crossed him. They are also scouring²⁸ documents related to an investigation²¹ of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's campaign finances.And of course Bridge and Rising are at war over Hillary Clinton. The Republicans have a dedicated²⁹ anti-Hillary team, are building a video archive of all her appearances, have published an e-Book to pick apart her recent memoir³⁰ and are posting shareable barbs³¹, such as pictures of two rather grand houses the Clintons bought around the time when Mrs Clinton said they were “dead broke”. Mrs Clinton's defenders³² at Bridge have created an organisation³³ called “Correct the Record” to rebut³⁴ Republican attacks on the former secretary of state.

　　桥正致力于挖掘新泽新洲州长克里斯 克里斯蒂的负面新闻，其中一些是关于他的助手处罚了一个在交通拥堵中超他车的市长，另一些文件积累是为了调查威斯康辛州州长竞选财政问题。当然，在希拉里克林顿问题上，桥和崛起之间也是硝烟四起，共和党领导的是一个反克林顿集团，他们正在制作所有希拉里抛头露面的视频合辑，并发表了一部电子书在希拉里最近的自传中挑肥拣瘦，锋芒毕露，例如，有两张图是希拉里在其声称山穷水尽时所购置的两套气势恢宏的住房，桥内部希拉里的捍卫者们创立了一个名叫“记录纠错”的组织，反击共和党对这位前国务卿的攻击。

　　Over the past decade oppo has turned from an art into a science, with fewer camera-wielding college students hiding behind trees and more staff staring at screens all day, monitoring livestreamed interviews and campaign events. Both sides dream of upending an opponent with an Akinesque “gotcha”, but the daily reality is more mundane³⁵. On Rising's website, the self-explanatory headline above one video is “Rep. Joe Garcia (D-FL) Picks His Ear And Eats It”.

　　经过十年，反对党调查组织已从一种艺术演变为一种科学，在树后手持相机躲躲闪闪的大学生渐渐淡出了视野，取而代之的是一群目不转睛盯着屏幕的工作人士，审阅各种直播的访谈和竞选活动。两者都梦想放倒对手，欢呼难倒你了，但事实更为平淡乏味，在崛起的网站，一则视频上的导语解释道：共和党琼 加西亚掏掏耳屎并吃了它”译者：张孟夏

　　1.expect to 期许

　　例句:You cannot expect to like all the people you will work with.

　　不要指望你会喜欢所有和你共事的人。

　　2.on behalf of 为了…的利益； 代表

　　例句:Secret Service officer Robin³⁶ Thompson spoke³⁷ on behalf of his colleagues.

　　特工处官员罗宾·汤普森代表他的同僚发表了讲话。

　　3.run for 竞选

　　例句:The vote was seen as a test run for elections to come.

　　这次投票被看作是即将到来的选举的预演。

　　4.allow to 允许

　　例句:Add a little of the warmed milk and allow to froth a little.

　　加一点温牛奶，并让它起点儿沫。

1 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。

2 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。

3 disseminate   

v.散布；传播

参考例句：

• We should disseminate science and promote the scientific spirit.普及科学知识，弘扬科学精神。
• We sincerely welcome all countries to disseminate their languages in China.我们真诚地欢迎世界各国来华推广本国语言。

4 gaffe   

n.（社交上令人不快的）失言，失态

参考例句：

• I had no idea of the gaffe which I was committing.我不清楚我犯了什么错误。
• He made an embarrassing gaffe at the convention last weekend.他在上周末的会议上出了洋相，狼狈不堪。

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 soliciting   

v.恳求( solicit的现在分词 )；（指娼妇）拉客；索求；征求

参考例句：

• A prostitute was soliciting on the street. 一名妓女正在街上拉客。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• China Daily is soliciting subscriptions. 《中国日报》正在征求订户。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 orations   

n.（正式仪式中的）演说，演讲( oration的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The young official added a genuine note of emotion amid the pompous funeral orations. 这位年轻的高级官员，在冗长的葬礼演讲中加了一段充满感情的话。 来自辞典例句
• It has to go down as one of the great orations of all times. 它去作为一个伟大的演讲所有次。 来自互联网

8 consulship   

领事的职位或任期

参考例句：

9 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

10 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》

11 pounce   

n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意

参考例句：

• Why do you pounce on every single thing I say?干吗我说的每句话你都要找麻烦？
• We saw the tiger about to pounce on the goat.我们看见老虎要向那只山羊扑过去。

12 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

13 mores   

n.风俗，习惯，民德，道德观念

参考例句：

• The mores of that village are hard to believe.那村子的习俗让人难以置信。
• We advocate a harmonious society where corruption is swept away,and social mores are cleared.我们提倡弊绝风清，建设一个和谐社会。

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 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

16 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

17 grandees   

n.贵族，大公，显贵者( grandee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The highest-ranking members of the Spanish aristocracy are the grandees. 西班牙贵族中爵位最高的成员乃是大公。 来自辞典例句
• Several grandees of the town are present at the party. 城里的几位要人出席了晚会。 来自互联网

18 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

19 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

20 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

22 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

23 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

24 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》

25 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

26 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

27 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

28 scouring   

擦[洗]净，冲刷，洗涤

参考例句：

• The police are scouring the countryside for the escaped prisoners. 警察正在搜索整个乡村以捉拿逃犯。
• This is called the scouring train in wool processing. 这被称为羊毛加工中的洗涤系列。

29 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

30 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

31 barbs   

n.（箭头、鱼钩等的）倒钩( barb的名词复数 )；带刺的话；毕露的锋芒；钩状毛

参考例句：

• She slung barbs at me. 她说了些讥刺我的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I would no longer uncomplainingly accept their barbs or allow their unaccountable power to go unchallenged. 我不会再毫无怨言地洗耳恭听他们带刺的话，或让他们的不负责任的权力不受到挑战。 来自辞典例句

32 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

33 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

34 rebut   

v.辩驳，驳回

参考例句：

• He attempted to rebut the assertions made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳控方证人所作的断言。
• This open letter is to rebut the argument of abstractionism.这封公开信是反驳抽象派论点的。

35 mundane   

adj.平凡的；尘世的；宇宙的

参考例句：

• I hope I can get an interesting job and not something mundane.我希望我可以得到的是一份有趣的工作，而不是一份平凡无奇的。
• I find it humorous sometimes that even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.我发现生活有时挺诙谐的，即使是最平凡的事情也能影响我们的感知。

36 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。

37 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。