密歇根新闻广播 一个年轻的高官能改变民主党吗

 

Jocelyn Benson announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination¹ for secretary of state yesterday. She has actually been running for the job for many months, though not as long as Bill Schuette has been running for governor; he is, after all, almost a quarter century older.

These days, making a formal announcement that you are running for office is actually something you do well into your campaign. This is something, by the way, that has dramatically changed about Michigan politics over the last few years; early, high-spending campaigns in both parties to get the nominations² for secretary of state and attorney general, two positions that aren't filled by primary voters, but by what we used to call party hacks³ at state conventions.

Benson's candidacy is interesting for a number of reasons, one of which is that there probably has never been anyone who has prepared as long or as hard for this job. She published a well-received book called Secretaries of State: Guardians⁴ of the Democratic Process seven years ago, the first time she ran. She lost then; but so did every other Michigan Democratic candidate for statewide office that year, and she ran well ahead of the ticket.

Another interesting thing about Benson is that her biography is so stunning⁵ that it would be unbelievable in a fictional⁶ character. Wellesley; Oxford⁷; Harvard Law School. She worked for the Southern Poverty Law Center as an investigative journalist; for National Public Radio, and was Dean of Wayne State University Law School when she was 35. She ended up in Michigan when she came to Detroit to be law clerk to a legendary⁸ black federal judge.

She ran the Boston Marathon when eight months pregnant and started a group called Military Spouses⁹ of Michigan after her 30-something husband went to fight in Afghanistan.

Last year, Benson stepped down as law dean and has become CEO of something called the Ross Initiative on Sports for Equality, or RISE. If I were directing a show like Veep or West Wing and a writer brought me this character, I would send the script back with instructions to make her more believable. But Benson, who turns 40 on Sunday, has in fact done all this.

She may be the most ambitious person I've ever met, and I find nothing wrong with that. She's especially intriguing¹⁰, when you look at the national, and to some extent, Michigan Democratic parties, which in demographic terms, largely look like assisted living facilities.

This is no longer a party of the young and the brash.

Nancy Pelosi is 77; Joe Biden 75, Bernie Sanders 76. Elizabeth Warren, perhaps their next presidential nominee¹¹, will be a mere¹² lass of 71 three years from now.

Here in Michigan, their congressional delegation¹³ is led by 88-year-old John Conyers and 86-year-old Sander Levin. This is no longer a party of the young and the brash.

Democrats¹⁴, by the way, held the Secretary of State's office for 40 years, lost it 23 years ago, when the incumbent¹⁵ exhibited signs of senility during a televised debate, and have seldom seriously competed for it since. This is probably the one statewide race they are best positioned to win next year; so far, the only Republicans in the race are third-tier candidates.

You never can tell in politics. But should she win, Jocelyn Benson is someone Democrats nationally might do well to watch.

Jack¹⁶ Lessenberry is Michigan Radio's Senior Political Analyst¹⁷. 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 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

2 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

3 hacks   

黑客

参考例句：

• But there are hacks who take advantage of people like Teddy. 但有些无赖会占类似泰迪的人的便宜。 来自电影对白
• I want those two hacks back here, right now. 我要那两个雇工回到这儿，现在就回。 来自互联网

4 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

5 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

6 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

7 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

8 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

9 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句

10 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

13 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

14 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》

15 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

16 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。

17 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。