VOA慢速英语2014 美国政客们忙着规划2016年大选

 

AS IT IS 2014-12-01 US Politicians Busy Planning for 2016 Elections 美国政客们忙着规划2016年大选

The Republican Party is preparing to control both houses of the United States Congress in January. Republican candidates won big victories in the recent U.S. congressional elections. The Democratic Party lost its majority in the Senate. The Democrats² must now adjust to being the minority party in both houses.                    

Both parties have begun looking ahead to the next national elections, in 2016. At that time, Americans will elect a new Congress -- and a new president.

Whit³ Ayres works as a strategist for the Republican Party. He says Republican victories in Congress may prepare the party for winning back the presidency⁴ two years from now. He said the party had better candidates.

“And we had candidates who could unite the Republican coalition⁵ and, of course, that is what it is going to take in 2016.”

Many well-known Republicans could decide to seek the party’s presidential nomination⁶. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is often mentioned as a possible nominee⁷. So are New Jersey⁸ Governor Chris Christie and Texas Senator Ted¹ Cruz.                         

But Mr. Ayres says nobody is a clear choice to be the Republican nominee.

“Whoever wins it will demonstrate an ability to join Tea Party, Libertarian, establishment, social conservative and internationalist Republicans all in one coalition and get enough each of those groups to build a majority.”

For the Democrats, preparation for the 2016 elections offers a different challenge.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is the clear leader for the Democratic presidential nomination – if she wants it. But Democratic strategist Celinda Lake says the party needs to find a winning economic message.

“I think a lot of people are now concluding, rightly or wrongly, that while (President Barack) Obama was change, that he didn’t have as much experience as we needed to actually get things done. Nobody questions Secretary Clinton’s qualifications and experience.”                            

Political observers say that for Hillary Clinton to succeed, she must show that she differs with President Barack Obama on some issues. The recent election results showed him to be unpopular among voters.

Political analyst⁹ John Fortier says Ms. Clinton may be the favorite for the Democratic presidential nomination. But she will face some opposition¹⁰ for the position.             

Mr. Fortier says it will be difficult to defeat her. He says other Democrats surely will challenge her. And he says they probably will try to make the argument from the left – the more liberal side of the party. He also says she may be criticized for being too hawkish¹¹ about foreign policy.                               

But Mr. Ayres says Democrats may not understand how hard Mr. Obama’s unpopularity will make it to win the presidency again. 

“I will tell you that it is exceedingly difficult for one party to win three presidential elections in a row. History suggests that it is a very unusual event.”    

Words in This Story

adjust - v. to change in order to work or do better in a new situation

strategist - n. a person who is skilled at making plans for achieving (gaining) a goal

mentioned - v. talked about, wrote about, referred to something or someone in a brief way

challenge - n. a difficult task, job or problem;  something that is hard to do

analyst -  n. a person who studies or analyzes¹² something

hawkish - adj. supporting war or the use of military force

The last time a party won three presidential elections, one after another, was in 1988. At that time, then-Vice President George H.W. Bush was elected after Ronald Reagan’s two terms in office. 

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

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 whit   

n.一点，丝毫

参考例句：

• There's not a whit of truth in the statement.这声明里没有丝毫的真实性。
• He did not seem a whit concerned.他看来毫不在乎。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

6 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。

7 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。

8 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

9 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。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 hawkish   

adj. 鹰派的, 强硬派的

参考例句：

• My staff's advice that first day was amazingly hawkish. 在第一天，我的僚属们的意见是令人吃惊的鹰派意见。
• Antiwar groups fear Barack Obama may create hawkish Cabinet. 反战团体担心巴拉克·奥巴马可以创建强硬派内阁。

12 analyzes   

v.分析( analyze的第三人称单数 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• This approach analyzes management by studying experience usually through cases. 这个学派通常从实例获得经验，用以分析管理。 来自辞典例句
• The econometrician analyzes statistical data. 经济计量学者要分析统计材料。 来自辞典例句