美国国家公共电台 NPR Racial Controversy Stirs Mississippi Senate Runoff

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Mississippi has a Senate race to settle next week. It's a runoff, and it's been overshadowed by one event. Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith made a comment. She said of a man at an event with her that she liked him so much, quote, "if he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be on the front row."

For many, this recalled lynchings in the Jim Crow South. Last night, Hyde-Smith, who is white, had to answer for her comment at a debate with Democrat¹ Mike Espy², a former congressman³ and Cabinet member who is black. NPR's Sarah McCammon was at the debate and is on the line from Jackson, Miss. Hi there, Sarah.

SARAH MCCAMMON, BYLINE⁴: Morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: I guess we should mention this comment is about the only thing we've heard about this Senate race on the national level. When you go to Mississippi, as you have done, is it the central part of the race?

MCCAMMON: It is on people's minds. I've been talking with voters for a couple of days, and people seem to be aware of this controversy⁵. A lot of people, kind of shaking their heads about it, really on both sides of the aisle⁶. But there are other issues. I visited a state university the other day. A student mentioned things like student debt. And I've heard talk about health care. And agricultural issues came up in the debate last night. So certainly, there are other issues at stake here.

INSKEEP: But this remark was something that Hyde-Smith had to address last night. What did she say?

MCCAMMON: Right. She has defended herself by saying that this comment about attending a public hanging was an exaggerated expression of affection for this supporter, and she said any suggestion there was a negative connotation to it was ridiculous. She was asked to explain that last night, and she said she was sorry if people found her remarks offensive.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CINDY HYDE-SMITH: You know, for anyone that was offended from my - by my comments, I certainly apologize. There was no ill will, no intent whatsoever⁷ in my statements.

MCCAMMON: And this is really the farthest she's gone in terms of apologizing. She's stood by her statements before. But she's under a lot of pressure here, getting a lot of national attention. And I should say, Steve, there have been other controversies⁸ around Hyde-Smith. She joked about making it harder for liberals to vote at one point, and a photo she posted on Facebook back in 2014 resurfaced. In it, she's seen wearing a Confederate hat, holding a rifle. And the caption⁹ says, Mississippi history at its best.

INSKEEP: Well, what did her Democratic opponent, Mike Espy, have to say about all this last night?

MCCAMMON: So he put out an ad shortly before the debate that said, quote, "we can't afford a senator who embarrasses us and reinforces the stereotypes¹⁰ we've worked so hard to overcome," some of those stereotypes about the Deep South. And he struck a similar theme during the debate last night on stage.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MIKE ESPY: Well, no one twisted your comments because your comments were live. You know, it came out of your mouth. And I don't know what's in your heart. But we all know what came out of your mouth. And it went viral, you know, within the first three minutes around the world, and so it's caused our state harm. It's given our state another black eye that we don't need. It's just rejuvenating¹¹ the old stereotypes, you know, that we don't need anymore.

INSKEEP: Sarah, very briefly¹², does this issue make the race potentially competitive for Democrats¹³?

MCCAMMON: I mean, this is still a red state. A Democrat hasn't won a Senate race since 1982. But this is a special election. It's a runoff. Anything could happen. It's hard to know.

INSKEEP: OK. NPR's Sarah McCammon in Jackson, Miss. Sarah, thanks so much.

MCCAMMON: Thank you.

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 espy   

v.（从远处等）突然看到

参考例句：

• Where love fails,we espy all faults.一旦失恋，缺点易见。
• Here,from a window,did Guinevere espy a knight standing in a woodman's cart.吉尼维尔是从这里透过窗户看到了站在樵夫车上的骑士。

3 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。

4 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。

5 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

6 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

7 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

8 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

9 caption   

n.说明，字幕，标题；v.加上标题，加上说明

参考例句：

• I didn't understand the drawing until I read the caption.直到我看到这幅画的说明才弄懂其意思。
• There is a caption under the picture.图片下边附有说明。

10 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 rejuvenating   

使变得年轻，使恢复活力( rejuvenate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The rejuvenating ambience of autumn is immeasurably more ancient than even the calendar. 秋天那让人恢复青春活力的气氛远比历法还要古老。 来自名作英译部分
• Rhoda says that it's embarrassing to be so idolized, but also very sweet and rejuvenating. 罗达说，给人这样过份地崇拜是很发窘的，不过也是愉快惬意使人年轻的。

12 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

13 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》