美国国家公共电台 NPR Sen. Jeff Flake: 'As Conservatives, Our First Obligation Is To Be Honest'

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

A Republican senator has chosen a dramatic moment to question the direction of his party.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Senator Jeff Flake¹ of Arizona is a longtime critic of President Trump². Now he has written a book detailing where he thinks his party has gone wrong.

JEFF FLAKE: I'm not blaming this I think lack of principle or where we are solely³ on the president. He's more the culmination⁴ of it.

MARTIN: Flake never endorsed⁵ his party's presidential candidate. He has praised many of Trump's appointments but is mostly dismayed by his policies. Now he's preparing to campaign for re-election in 2018 even as White House officials have met with potential primary challengers to Flake.

INSKEEP: And it's at this tense moment that Senator Flake has been secretly writing his book. He says even his closest advisers⁶ did not know about it until recently. It carries a provocative⁷ title, a title borrowed from another book written more than half a century ago by Arizona Senator and presidential candidate Barry Goldwater.

So why'd you write a book called "Conscience Of A Conservative"?

FLAKE: Well, you know, it's been 56 years now since Goldwater, you know, back in 1960 realized that the Republican Party had kind of been compromised by the New Deal. And...

INSKEEP: Meaning - when you say compromised by the New Deal, meaning that Republicans, in his view, had become too accepting of big social programs.

FLAKE: That's right. That's right - compromised by, you know, huge federal bureaucracy and that the concept of limited government was going. Well, I thought, you know, now we're, you know, 56 years in. It was time to reassess where we are. And I'm very troubled about where the Republican Party is now. It seems that we've been compromised but this time by different forces, those of populism and protectionism, isolationism, xenophobia. And I'm concerned about how we remain a governing party with those principles.

INSKEEP: What went wrong?

FLAKE: You know, this is a long time in coming. I got here to Washington in 2001 - myself and Mike Pence, actually. We both ran conservative think tanks in the '90s. We knew each other then. But then we got to Washington in 2001. And we got the No Child Left Behind which was I thought big federal overreach into local education policy, and that...

INSKEEP: President Bush's signature education policy.

FLAKE: That's right. And then we got the prescription⁸ drug benefit, which added about $7 trillion in unfunded liabilities. I didn't think that that was a very conservative thing to do. When we couldn't argue that we were the party of limited government anymore, then that forced us into issues like flag burning (laughter) or trying to intervene in the Terri Schiavo case, things that, you know, we wouldn't have done otherwise if we would have been arguing about true principles of limited government or spending.

INSKEEP: Are you telling me the backstory of the rise of President Trump, the conditions that made it possible for him to become the presidential nominee⁹ and the president?

FLAKE: Very much so. I do think that we made the ground fertile for somebody like President Trump to come along. And I think that now we've abandoned many of our principles like free trade and American leadership around the world. But also, we've become a coarser party.

Being a conservative isn't just adopting conservative policies. I think it matters in terms of demeanor¹⁰ and comportment. With foreign policy, for example, I think a conservative foreign policy is something that is steady and predictable, where you embrace your allies and recognize your adversaries¹¹. You know, I don't see that much now.

INSKEEP: Why do you think 62 million Americans voted for President Trump?

FLAKE: I certainly recognize the frustrations¹² that people have. I feel and hear it every day when I'm home, when I go to the grocery store or to the gym or anywhere. People are concerned about their jobs, their economic future. They wonder if their kids will have the same opportunities that they've had. And I think Donald Trump kind of spoke¹³ to that.

But I think as conservatives, our first obligation is to be honest with people. And telling factory workers, for example - it's always easier for a politician to point to a shuttered factory and say, that's because of free trade; that's because Mexico took those jobs or China did. And what...

INSKEEP: And sometimes there may be a little truth to that.

FLAKE: But what is not recognized is that it's largely been productivity gains and automation.

INSKEEP: That have put people out of work.

FLAKE: We manufacture - yeah, that's right. We manufacture twice as much as we did in the 1980s with one-third fewer workers. And those productivity gains will continue. Globalization has happened. And the question is, do we harness it for our benefit, or are we left behind by it?

We are, you know, less than 5 percent of the world's population, and we're less than 20 percent of the world's economic output. If we don't find new markets for our goods, if we don't trade and enter into multilateral and bilateral¹⁴ trade agreements, we'll be left behind. And we won't grow economically.

INSKEEP: Why did you write this book in secret?

FLAKE: Well, you know, I'm up for re-election in a year. And any good political consultant¹⁵ - and I have a lot of them (laughter) around me and advisers who advise me. And they're doing their job if they're telling me, you know, don't do anything risky¹⁶; don't do anything that would anger any individual person or a group. Kind of lay low. That's what good political consultants¹⁷ tell you.

But I thought that this was too important. And I felt that, you know, we need to return to principle. It's never - there's never seems to be a convenient time, certainly not when you're up for election. But if I waited until I was safely re-elected and then wrote the book, it wouldn't mean as much.

INSKEEP: I think...

FLAKE: It means more when there's something at risk.

INSKEEP: I think you're telling me that you kept it secret because you didn't want anyone to even have a chance to talk you out of it.

FLAKE: That's right. That's right.

INSKEEP: And...

FLAKE: And I tell you, I have good people around me who are committed to principle. But you know, the political world will tell you, you know, keep quiet. Don't take the risk. And I thought that it was important to stand up when I had something to risk. I think it means more at that point.

INSKEEP: Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, thanks very much.

FLAKE: Thanks for having me on.

(SOUNDBITE OF EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY'S "HUMAN QUALITIES")

INSKEEP: His new book is called "Conscience Of A Conservative: A Rejection¹⁸ Of Destructive Politics And A Return To Principle."

(SOUNDBITE OF EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY'S "HUMAN QUALITIES")

1 flake   

v.使成薄片；雪片般落下；n.薄片

参考例句：

• Drain the salmon,discard the skin,crush the bones and flake the salmon with a fork.将鲑鱼沥干，去表皮，粉碎鱼骨并用餐叉子将鱼肉切成小薄片状。
• The paint's beginning to flake.油漆开始剥落了。

2 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。

3 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

4 culmination   

n.顶点；最高潮

参考例句：

• The space race reached its culmination in the first moon walk.太空竞争以第一次在月球行走而达到顶峰。
• It may truly be regarded as the culmination of classical Greek geometry.这确实可以看成是古典希腊几何的登峰造级之作。

5 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

7 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

8 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

9 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。

10 demeanor   

n.行为；风度

参考例句：

• She is quiet in her demeanor.她举止文静。
• The old soldier never lost his military demeanor.那个老军人从来没有失去军人风度。

11 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句

12 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

13 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。

14 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

15 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

16 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

17 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。

18 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。