2006年VOA标准英语-US Democrats Face Opportunities, Challenge

By Jim Malone
Washington
11 May 2006

Low public approval ratings for President Bush and his Republican allies in Congress present a huge opportunity for opposition¹ Democrats³ in November's congressional midterm elections. Democrats have plenty of challenges of their own.

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Democrats believe this year's congressional elections are their best chance to retake control of one or both chambers⁴ of Congress since Republicans won majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives in 1994.

Public concern over Iraq, gas prices and last year's response to Hurricane Katrina has driven down approval ratings for both the president and the Republican-controlled Congress.

Norman Ornstein   
  
"It's not just an overall voter disgust with the status quo," said Norman Ornstein, a political analyst⁵ at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. "There is an unhappiness, clearly, about the war, an unhappiness about the economy.  Even though many parts of the economy are good, a lot of Americans just don't feel it."

But for opposition Democrats, political opportunity has also sparked internal debate about what the party stands for and what its strategy should be in the November elections.

Moderate Democrats believe the party must do a better job of convincing the public that Democrats can protect the United States from terrorist attack and lead the war on terror.

Some liberal Democrats believe the party needs to adopt a sharper tone in criticizing the Bush administration's approach to the war on terror and its record on civil liberties.
 

Russ Feingold  
  
Senator Russ Feingold is a Democrat² from Wisconsin who is considering a run for president in 2008.   

"The greatest passion is for us to stand up on the critical post 9/11 issues, from Iraq to the USA Patriot⁶ Act to the president violating the law by authorizing⁷ illegal domestic wiretapping," he said.

Democratic congressional leaders say they may press for an investigation⁸ into how the U.S. got into the war in Iraq should they retake control of either the House or the Senate.

But some Republicans have seized on comments that Democrats might pursue impeachment⁹ proceedings¹⁰ against President Bush if they win in November, something House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi tried to discount on NBC television.

 
Nancy Pelosi (file photo) 
  
"Democrats are not about impeachment," she said. "Democrats are about bringing the country together."

Democrats are also debating whether they need to come up with a comprehensive policy program to offer voters who have questioned what the Democratic Party stands for.

Among those who favor that approach is Jennifer Palmieri.  She worked in the Clinton White House and is now with the Center for American Progress, a public policy research organization in Washington, and was a recent guest on VOA's Talk To America program.

"They [Democrats] are, by definition, constantly in a reactive mode," she said. "But it is also true that they could certainly be doing a better job of being bolder, more courageous¹¹ and more clear on what they are for."

But some analysts¹² believe that the dissatisfaction demonstrated in public opinion polls over the past several months will be enough to fuel Democratic gains in November, possibly resulting in Democrats winning control of one or both chambers of Congress.

Stephen Hess   
  
"I think that anger is probably sufficient," said Stephen Hess, an expert on Congress and the presidency¹³ at the Brookings Institution in Washington. "There are a lot of people who talk, well, they have to have an ideology¹⁴, a common thread and so forth¹⁵.  So if, as the polls are recently showing, if the anger toward the in party, and that is Republicans, who are in the White House and also both chambers of Congress, is sufficient, that might do it without further unification, if you will, in the out party [Democrats]."

Polls show that many Republicans are dispirited about their prospects¹⁶ in November.

Republican strategists believe their best hope of holding their congressional majorities may be to use the threat of a Democratic takeover to motivate conservative voters to get to the polls in November.

But Republicans have their own sources of discord¹⁷ as well.  Many Republicans are worried about the situation in Iraq and are also concerned about divisions within the party over immigration and government spending.

In fact, recent public opinion polls suggest that congressional candidates from both major parties will face a gloomy electorate¹⁸ come November.

Former Republican Congressman¹⁹ John Kasich has written a new book entitled, Stand For Something: The Battle For America's Soul.  He was a guest on VOA's Press Conference USA.

"I think the biggest problem that the Republicans have had, including the administration, is they really sort of forgot why they came here," he said. "And they came here to transform government, to reduce the size of government, to reduce the tax burden, to simplify the tax code and a whole variety of other things.  But over the last few years they have sort of lost their way.  On the other side are Democrats, who can't even put together a program as to what they are for.  They are more comfortable being against things."

Experts say Democrats appear to be more motivated than Republicans at the moment and that could impact voter turnout to the Democrat's advantage in November.

They also say Democrats may have history on their side.  The party that controls the White House and Congress generally loses seats during a president's second term, especially if the incumbent²⁰ president has a public approval rating below 50 percent. 
 
 

1 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。

2 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。

3 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》

4 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

5 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。

6 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

7 authorizing   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Letters of Marque: Take letters from a warning friendly power authorizing privateering. 私掠许可证：从某一个国家获得合法抢劫的证书。
• Formal phavee completion does not include authorizing the subsequent phavee. 阶段的正式完成不包括核准随后的阶段。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

10 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

11 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

12 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

13 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。

14 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

15 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

16 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。

17 discord   

n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐

参考例句：

• These two answers are in discord.这两个答案不一样。
• The discord of his music was hard on the ear.他演奏的不和谐音很刺耳。

18 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

19 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。

20 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。