美国国家公共电台 NPR McConnell Warns Of 'Scary Prospect' If GOP Loses Senate Control In Midterms

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Back here in Washington, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is sending a warning to voters. With midterm elections now just 26 days away, he wants Republicans to know control of Congress is not the only thing at stake.

MITCH MCCONNELL: Lose the Senate, and the project of confirming judges is over for the last two years of president Trump¹. That I think is a scary prospect² to the people who like what we've been doing on the judge project and I hope will help us hold onto our majority.

KELLY: Well, NPR congressional reporter Kelsey Snell sat down with Senator McConnell in his office in the Capitol today for a wide-ranging discussion, and she is with me now for a wide-ranging discussion on everything that they discussed. Hey there, Kelsey.

KELSEY SNELL, BYLINE³: Hi there.

KELLY: So Senator McConnell really sounding the alarm there for Republicans - how confident did he tell you he is that they will keep their Senate majority come November?

SNELL: Well, I have to say he sounded much more upbeat than he did even just a month ago. People may remember that earlier this year, he said the Senate was absolutely in play. Now, the conversation we had didn't really sound like that. He told me that the fight over Kavanaugh - Justice Kavanaugh came just at the right time even when he was downplaying the general failure of the tax reform message for Republicans.

MCCONNELL: As of the last week or so, the hottest issue in our races has become the Kavanaugh nomination⁴. And we've seen a surge in interest among Republican voters. We knew the Democrats⁵ were fired up. They have been all year - no question about that. But what we're now seeing is that the enthusiasm and energy on the Republican side comes close to matching the Democratic side. And given the states that we're competing in, that's really good news for us.

SNELL: You've said many times that it - to energize⁶ your base. Do you worry that that has come too quickly? Is that something sustainable? Will Republicans - now that they have Kavanaugh in this seat, will they stay energized⁷ and show up to vote?

MCCONNELL: Actually it comes right on the eve of the election. I mean, we're only three weeks out. The timing⁸ for a surge really couldn't have been better - not that this was all planned, you understand. But, I mean, it was a great break for us in terms of energizing⁹ our own people.

SNELL: Another part of it that you've talked about is you've called Democrats an angry mob essentially¹⁰. You've used the term mob.

MCCONNELL: I declared the mob an angry mob. That was not what I said about our Democratic colleagues. I do think that they encouraged what went on and that Congress - well, you were here in the halls. We were literally¹¹ under assault ourselves - trailing members to their homes, getting in their faces here in the Capitol, effort to clearly try to intimidate¹² us. And one of the reasons I was so proud of the result last Saturday on Judge Kavanaugh is that we stood up for two things. We stood up to the mob, and we also stood up for the presumption¹³ of innocence¹⁴.

SNELL: One major campaign promise that you guys were not able to fulfill¹⁵ was on health care. And I'd like to know. Would you schedule a vote to repeal¹⁶ the Affordable¹⁷ Care Act if you do keep the majority next year?

MCCONNELL: I usually don't announce what I'm going to do this far in advance. That was a disappointment. That was the single biggest disappointment of this Congress and really the only major disappointment. We were able to move on so many different fronts. In fact, if you're an American who prefers the country right of center, I've said before, and I would say again today this has been the best Congress in the time I've been in the Senate.

SNELL: You've acknowledged that your party has a significant gender¹⁸ gap. It's something you've talked about quite a bit in the past couple of days. Republicans are also behind with minorities and some other groups. What does it mean for the long-term viability¹⁹ of the GOP if the party increasingly appeals mostly to white men?

MCCONNELL: Well, you know, we've done pretty well with Hispanics in the past. And even the current president did better than a lot of people thought he would. I think it's also important to remember that President Trump got 9 out of 10 Republican votes in 2016, not that every one of those 9 out of 10 who voted for him was thrilled with every aspect of what he was saying. I think we're in a pretty good position going into these midterm elections. I'm pretty optimistic we'll be able to hold our majority.

SNELL: There was a talk at one point in time about, you know, dissecting²⁰ where these losses were happening for Republicans, particularly in the Hispanic community. Is it time for that to happen again?

MCCONNELL: Well, I don't think there's any question that we would like to be doing better than we are with Hispanic Americans, although some of the most prominent Hispanic politicians in America happen to be Republicans. With regard to women voters, we've always had something of a gender gap. It's never been as wide as it is now. We have two great women running for the Senate this year, Marsha Blackburn in Tennessee and Martha McSally in Arizona.

I think we can improve our position with women voters and with Hispanic voters for sure. With African-Americans, we haven't been able to make much headway, although I think it is noteworthy that Tim Scott is a member of our conference. And he's the - arguably the most popular politician in South Carolina. So there is hope with African-American voters as well. But I'm more optimistic about closing the gender gap and by improving our position with Hispanics.

SNELL: You're looking ahead. We talked just, like, 3 1/2 weeks away from this election. How many Republicans will be in the Senate next year?

MCCONNELL: Now, you know I'm not going to answer that.

(LAUGHTER)

MCCONNELL: I stay out of the prediction business.

KELLY: Sometimes the non-answers are telling. That was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaking with our Kelsey Snell on Capitol Hill today. And, Kelsey, was there anything else he just wouldn't answer?

SNELL: Well, yeah, I think it's important to note that this is a longer interview that we kind of had to edit down for time. And he and I talked about a lot. And one of the things he - that really struck me is that he avoided criticizing President Trump on most issues, particularly on the economy and on President Trump's comments from last night that the Fed is crazy for raising interest rates.

KELLY: Right.

SNELL: McConnell just wouldn't go there. And in that section about health care, when we heard him say it was a major failure, he didn't say it's a fight he wants to repeat. And that's not what a lot of conservatives want to hear. They wanted to hear that Republicans are going to go back if they still have control and try again to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

And on that same issue, we got into an extended conversation about Republicans and protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Two Senate candidates are involved in lawsuits²¹ to weaken those protections, and he told me that Republicans are campaigning on keeping those protections and gave a contradictory²² response about how they can support those lawsuits but still want the protections in place.

KELLY: One thing that leapt out at me listening there - back to your health care point, he described a failure to pass health care overhaul²³ is the only major disappointment. And I was thinking, I can think of others. I mean, what about comprehensive immigration reform? They wanted to get that done. It's not done.

SNELL: That really wasn't on his list. And, you know, I - it has been on the list for a lot of Republicans that I've talked to who had worked on immigration. Many of them said that they still hold out hope that immigration could be part of a broader conversation later in the year, potentially around spending.

KELLY: Speaking of spending and speaking of immigration, did you ask about the border wall, which people are talking about again - funding for Trump's border wall with Mexico?

SNELL: Yeah, I asked him if he thought there was going to be a shutdown fight in December over the border wall with Mexico. He says he wants to try to get funding for the wall, but he's talking about a lot less money than House Republicans. He said about - you know, money for about one year, roughly the amount that they've been spending on border security altogether. And now, that's not a big down payment or major investment that some in the House are talking about, and that sets up the possibility of an immigration conversation, of a big spending fight.

KELLY: One other thing that you raised with him was women and where women are left post-Kavanaugh confirmation²⁴ battle. He acknowledged that there's always been something of a gender gap in terms of voters for Republicans and acknowledge that's going to be a challenge.

SNELL: Yeah, absolutely. And he said that he is going to make an effort to get more women on the Senate Judiciary Committee next year. He says he's asked in the past, and he's going to ask again.

KELLY: All right, NPR congressional reporter Kelsey Snell talking about her interview today with Mitch McConnell there on Capitol Hill - Kelsey, thanks so much.

SNELL: Thank you.

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 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

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 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。

5 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》

6 energize   

vt.给予(某人或某物)精力、能量

参考例句：

• It is used to energize the city.它的作用是为城市供给能量。
• This is a great way to energize yourself and give yourself more power!这种方法非常棒，可以激活你的能量，让你有更多的活力！

7 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

8 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

9 energizing   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的现在分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• a refreshing and energizing fruit drink 提神并增加体能的果汁饮料
• The time required after energizing a device, before its rated output characteristics begin to apply. 从设备通电到它开始提供额定输出特性之间所需的时间。 来自辞典例句

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

11 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

12 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

13 presumption   

n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定

参考例句：

• Please pardon my presumption in writing to you.请原谅我很冒昧地写信给你。
• I don't think that's a false presumption.我认为那并不是错误的推测。

14 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

15 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

16 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

17 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

18 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

19 viability   

n.存活(能力)

参考例句：

• What is required to achieve or maintain such viability? 要达到或维持这种生存能力需要什么？
• Scientists are experimenting to find ways to ensure the viability of seeds for even longer periods of time. 正如我们所说，科学家正在试验努力寻找让种子的生命力更加延长的方法。

20 dissecting   

v.解剖（动物等）( dissect的现在分词 )；仔细分析或研究

参考例句：

• Another group was dissecting a new film showing locally. 另外一批人正在剖析城里上演的一部新电影。 来自辞典例句
• Probe into Dissecting Refraction Method Statics Processing under Complicated Surface Conditions. 不同地表条件下土壤侵蚀的坡度效应。 来自互联网

21 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

22 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

23 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

24 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。