美国国家公共电台 NPR A Year Later, The Shock Of Trump's Win Hasn't Totally Worn Off In Either Party

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

One year ago today, Hillary Clinton conceded the presidential election to Donald Trump¹.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

HILLARY CLINTON: This is not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for. And I'm sorry that we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country.

MARTIN: The outcome shocked Democrats². Ever since, the party has been trying to pick up the pieces. And we've been looking at how Trump's election has reshaped politics over the last year. NPR's Scott Detrow is here to talk about the Democrats. Hi, Scott.

SCOTT DETROW, BYLINE³: Good morning.

MARTIN: So it seemed like for much of this past year, Democrats have been stuck - mentally stuck in 2016, specifically the 2016 primary, right?

DETROW: That's right. And it all came back to the surface last week with that news that the DNC had that financial agreement in place with the Clinton campaign before the primary. These wounds are really deep and they just won't seem to heal. Just listen to how Nina Turner talks about them. Turner is the head of Bernie Sanders' political organization, Our Revolution.

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NINA TURNER: I do believe that the Democratic Party is going to have to have a reconciliation⁴, you know, truth and reconciliation like they did, you know, in South Africa after apartheid - truth and reconciliation. And, Scott, they have not been willing to do that.

MARTIN: Wow - apartheid. It's that bad?

DETROW: I mean, it says it right there. If you're comparing the situation to that, that's striking in terms of how deep the anger is for portions of the Democratic Party.

MARTIN: So the party's been trying to heal the divide. In the meantime, they still have to reach out to voters, right? How has that effort been going?

DETROW: Well, I think on that front, Democrats feel like things have been going very well. There has been this rehashing but also a lot of organizing and political engagement. So I spent some time in Pennsylvania talking to Democrats. We're going to spend a few minutes with the people I met there. I went there because for all of the explanations for Trump's win - and we've heard so many of them this week - he's president for one main reason - he flipped⁵ Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

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UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) Hillary. Hillary. Hillary. Hillary.

DETROW: On the eve of the election, Hillary Clinton rallied in front of 33,000 people in Philadelphia. The next day, Democrats woke up all over Pennsylvania confident that the state would go blue like it had in every election since 1992.

CHRISSY HOULAHAN: I put on a pantsuit. And my daughter put on white clothes to represent the Suffragettes.

DETROW: Chrissy Houlahan lives in suburban⁶ Philadelphia. She and her daughter couldn't wait to elect the first woman president.

HOULAHAN: We sat down to enjoy the election results together with my husband with balloons at the ready and champagne⁷. And the night, as we know, kind of went sideways, at least for me.

DETROW: For many Democrats, things stayed sideways for months. They viewed the incoming Trump administration with fear and dread⁸. January 20 came. And then January 21st, the Women's March in Washington and so many other cities. Houlahan helped organize a bus ride down I-95.

HOULAHAN: And in that journey down with 53 women and two men, had the opportunity to learn from each of them that we all had different reasons to be standing⁹ there and marching. And all of them were issues that really mattered to all of us. And it occurred to me that I had the background and the experience.

DETROW: The background and the experience to run for Congress. In fact, Houlahan is one of the Democrats' best prospects¹⁰ in Pennsylvania, where several Republicans are either retiring or viewed as vulnerable. She's an Air Force veteran and a longtime business executive. And she's one of the Democrats running in a district that went for Clinton but also voted Republican for Congress. For Houlahan, there's one big problem with that district. She says it's shaped like a dragon.

HOULAHAN: And that dragon basically has a bunch of bites in it. And anywhere that you see a bite taken out of the back or the stomach of the dragon, I would argue that those are where Democrats are.

DETROW: And the Democrats only have one real fix for this problem - winning these types of districts in spite of their shapes so they can draw the boundaries next time. That's what Jamie Perrapato is trying to do in the Philadelphia suburb.

JAMIE PERRAPATO: So, you know, I'm a good Italian girl. I never show up unannounced, and I don't show up without food.

DETROW: Perrapato helped found a group called Turn PA Blue. It's a bunch of volunteers who are trying to shift resources from some of those Democratic legislative¹¹ districts and into the neighboring Republican seats.

PERRAPATO: You know, I'm 46 years old. I have not met this many new people since I was like a freshman¹² in college. And they are amazing. They are incredible.

DETROW: Perrapato has helped organize canvassing¹³ drives, educational seminars and candidates forums¹⁴. Like many Democrats in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, she's responded to last year's loss with newfound political engagement. That energy that began around the Women's March has continued. But the fact is the party is still out of power at all levels of government.

BRENDAN BOYLE: We are, numerically speaking, at our lowest point either in 90 years or ever as a party since being founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

DETROW: Brendan Boyle is a Philadelphia congressman¹⁵. He says the solution is getting out of the cities and suburbs, showing up to try and win back rural voters.

BOYLE: In my view, it is completely insufficient¹⁶ to do what some Democratic strategists want us to do and just focus on getting 90 percent of the vote in a very small area and then ignoring the rest of the population.

DETROW: But while showing up may be half the battle, the second half - figuring out what to talk about - is pretty important too. Like many other Democrats in Congress, Boyle thinks the party needs to focus on the economy.

PERRAPATO: I have a tablecloth¹⁷ now, not to brag¹⁸ about my fanciness but I bought a tablecloth.

DETROW: Democrats still haven't figured out just how to focus their message. But there are plenty of people like Jamie Perrapato who will just keep organizing event after event over the next year. A lot of the big-picture trends look like they could be pointing in the party's favor, things like Trump's low approval ratings. But the fact is, after what happened last year, many Democrats just don't trust themselves to be confident.

PERRAPATO: I'm wondering who we're talking to. Are we talking to each other, or who is listening?

MARTIN: OK. We are back in the studio with NPR's Scott Detrow. Scott, that was so interesting hearing people reflect on the past year and how it's mobilized them. I mean, clearly, some people are mobilized. They're animated¹⁹ by this political moment. And the Democrats are getting some momentum²⁰. There was pretty significant election wins this week for the party in Virginia and elsewhere. What does that mean for the party moving forward?

DETROW: I mean, first of all, it was just a big confidence boost. Democrats are so disoriented right now that just winning elections went a long way. You heard Democrats talk about showing up there. They did that in Virginia, competing in state - House of Delegate races all over the state. And they made big gains. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, who you'll remember was the losing vice²¹ presidential candidate a year ago, identified what he thinks those candidates did right.

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TIM KAINE: You know, jobs, education, health care for all. Just keep it simple. You know, focus on these bread-and-butter issues that people care about so much.

DETROW: And Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey made the argument that focusing on the economy could keep Democrats away from all that infighting because, by and large, they agree on economic issues.

MARTIN: NPR's Scott Detrow. Thanks so much, Scott.

DETROW: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF KAMASI WASHINGTON'S "KNOWLEDGE")

1 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。

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 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

5 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

6 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

7 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

8 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

11 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

12 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

13 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

14 forums   

讨论会； 座谈会； 广播专题讲话节目； 集会的公共场所( forum的名词复数 )； 论坛，讨论会，专题讨论节目； 法庭

参考例句：

• A few of the forums were being closely monitored by the administrators. 有些论坛被管理员严密监控。
• It can cast a dark cloud over these forums. 它将是的论坛上空布满乌云。

15 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。

16 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

17 tablecloth   

n.桌布，台布

参考例句：

• He sat there ruminating and picking at the tablecloth.他坐在那儿沉思，轻轻地抚弄着桌布。
• She smoothed down a wrinkled tablecloth.她把起皱的桌布熨平了。

18 brag   

v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的

参考例句：

• He made brag of his skill.他夸耀自己技术高明。
• His wealth is his brag.他夸张他的财富。

19 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

20 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

21 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。