密歇根新闻广播 当你的政党不再代表你的价值观时该怎么办?

 

What do you do when the group you’ve belonged to your entire life no longer represents your values?

This has often been a problem in the melting pot that is America. Children upset parents by rejecting traditional customs, like arranged marriage.

But it is also a problem in politics.

In some countries, especially parliamentary democracies, political parties are much more fluid. French President Emmanuel Macron’s party didn’t exist two years ago, but won a landslide¹ majority this spring.

But in the United States, our two major political parties are almost like families. Each has been around for more than a century and a half. They change gradually, they mutate, but it is virtually impossible to imagine either disappearing, partly because our political structure is designed for a two-party system.

Culturally, our parties are very different.

Democrats² have long been a coalition³ of different ethnic⁴ groups who may not love each other, but hate Republicans more.

The Republican Party, on the other hand, began as a pro-business and pro-freedom party. The party was founded to oppose slavery, and attracted the support of most African-Americans who were allowed to vote.

That began to change during the Great Depression, when Robert Vann, the publisher of the Pittsburgh Courier, advised black Americans to “turn Lincoln’s picture to the wall,” and vote Democratic because the New Deal promised economic benefits.

That happened, but a solid third of black voters continued to support Republicans out of loyalty⁵ to the party’s civil rights roots.

That ended in 1964, when Democratic President Lyndon Johnson became a strong supporter of civil rights, and Republican nominee⁶ Barry Goldwater opposed the Civil Rights Act. Since then, Republicans have usually gotten less than 10% of black votes. But a few blacks were Republicans, often because they believed the party’s belief in self-reliance was what African-Americans needed to break the cycle of dependency.

Wayne Bradley, the Michigan Republican Party’s director of African-American engagement, was one of those.

He also was among the 8% of black voters who supported Donald Trump⁷. But he has been troubled by his party’s response to the controversy⁸ that began in Charlottesville, and also over GOP support for Confederate statues.

Over the weekend, Bradley posted on Facebook:

“You can’t claim to be from the party of Lincoln and defend the Confederacy.”

His reward was to reap a torrent⁹ of abuse.

“This is no longer the party of Lincoln, it’s the party of Trump!” one man posted.

Many news outlets¹⁰ also reported that Bradley was attacked by Antrim County GOP Chair “Trucker Randy” Bishop¹¹, who loudly called him to be fired for “placating liberals.”

Few noted¹², however, that Trucker Randy moved to Antrim after two felony fraud convictions in Macomb.

The fact is that Wayne Bradley is clinging to a vision of the Republican Party that basically no longer exists.

President Trump has said he is grateful that fewer blacks voted last year than in the last presidential election, and was slow to condemn¹³ the racists in Charlottesville.

Republicans are also now the party defending the statues of those who would have seen Wayne Bradley as property, not a person.

Bradley may wish to believe otherwise. But it’s becoming increasingly clear that this isn’t Lincoln, George Romney, Bill Milliken, or even Richard Nixon’s GOP.

1 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

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 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

9 torrent   

n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发

参考例句：

• The torrent scoured a channel down the hillside. 急流沿着山坡冲出了一条沟。
• Her pent-up anger was released in a torrent of words.她压抑的愤怒以滔滔不绝的话爆发了出来。

10 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。