密歇根新闻广播 今日的立法者似乎并不在意

 

I've been talking to legislators and congressmen for a long time, and know something about lawmakers in the past as well. There are some ways in which I think today's lot are generally better. For example, they are better educated and drink less. More of them are women, and I think there are far fewer on the take.

But there's also something very wrong with our legislature today, something that often makes me think we would be better off with the old boozing and occasionally brawling¹ pols, some of whom were still around when I was a young reporter.

You could argue that the old-time politicians didn't always understand what the people wanted, and I'd agree. You could say that some even pandered² to our worst instincts.

But today we have a state Senate whose leaders are actively³ hostile to the clear will of the people when it comes to openness and transparency in political campaigns.

Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof and his follower⁴, Senate Elections Chair Dave Robertson, rammed⁵ through a bill last week that is a positive disgrace to democracy.

Senate Bill 335 would allow unrestricted spending by outside, so-called independent groups to influence Michigan elections. These groups would be allowed to hide the source of their campaign contributions, so that voters would have no way to find out who, for example, might be behind a multi-million dollar TV advertising⁶ smear⁷ campaign.

Former Republican Congressman⁸ Joe Schwarz wrote, "To say this is bad policy would be an understatement," in a column in the Detroit News. Schwarz added, "We are at a moment when Americans' trust in government is incredibly low, and efforts like these only erode⁹ that trust further.

How can Michigan citizens believe that their elected representatives are looking out for their best interests if they are receiving undocumented and unlimited¹⁰ financial contributions from anonymous¹¹ individuals and corporations?"

The answer, as Schwarz well knows, is that the senators who voted to pass this bill aren't looking out for our best interests. They are actively hostile to them.

Meekhof and Robertson are both term-limited and unlikely to run for office again, so they have nothing to fear. Earlier, they have repeatedly acted to prevent anything from being passed to make voting easier for people, including no-reason absentee voting.

They have repeatedly managed to kill efforts to make government more transparent¹² by extending FOIA, or Freedom of Information Act laws to cover politicians like themselves.

But they can't wait to make it easier for corporations to secretly give money to corrupt¹³ our electoral process. As Meekhof cynically¹⁴ told the Detroit Free Press, "Everybody should have free speech, and the Supreme¹⁵ Court has said that free speech equals money."

I wasn't aware that corporations have found it difficult to influence elections. Joe Schwarz put it best: This bill, he said, "furthers the reach and power of moneyed interests at the expense of Michigan voters," thus "undermining the trust Americans have in our government."

The state House of Representatives should defeat this bill, and if they fail to do so, Governor Snyder should veto it. We, as a people, are indeed fast losing faith in democracy - and this bill is a message that cynicism is totally justified¹⁶.

And that might be the scariest outcome of all.

Jack¹⁷ Lessenberry is Michigan Radio's Senior Political Analyst¹⁸. Views expressed in his essays are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Radio, its management or the station licensee, The University of Michigan.

1 brawling   

n.争吵，喧嚷

参考例句：

• They were arrested for brawling in the street. 他们因在街上打斗而遭到拘捕。
• The officers were brawling commands. 军官们大声地喊口令。

2 pandered   

v.迎合（他人的低级趣味或淫欲）( pander的过去式和过去分词 )；纵容某人；迁就某事物

参考例句：

• The newspaper here pandered to people's interest in sex scandals. 这里的报纸迎合了人们对桃色新闻的兴趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His films never pandered to public taste. 他的电影从不迎合公众的口味。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

4 follower   

n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒

参考例句：

• He is a faithful follower of his home football team.他是他家乡足球队的忠实拥护者。
• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。

5 rammed   

v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输

参考例句：

• Two passengers were injured when their taxi was rammed from behind by a bus. 公共汽车从后面撞来，出租车上的两位乘客受了伤。
• I rammed down the earth around the newly-planted tree. 我将新栽的树周围的土捣硬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

7 smear   

v.涂抹；诽谤，玷污；n.污点；诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• He has been spreading false stories in an attempt to smear us.他一直在散布谎言企图诽谤我们。
• There's a smear on your shirt.你衬衫上有个污点。

8 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

9 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

10 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

11 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

12 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

13 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

14 cynically   

adv.爱嘲笑地，冷笑地

参考例句：

• "Holding down the receiver,'said Daisy cynically. “挂上话筒在讲。”黛西冷嘲热讽地说。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比
• The Democrats sensibly (if cynically) set about closing the God gap. 民主党在明智（有些讽刺）的减少宗教引起的问题。 来自互联网

15 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。

16 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

17 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

18 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。