VOA标准英语2010年-Arab-Americans Favor Democrats in New

Just one month before the 2010 midterm elections, a new public opinion poll shows that Arab-American voters favor Democrats¹ over Republicans by a wide margin². The survey also finds that discrimination against Arab Americans appears to be on the rise.

Americans go to the polls next month to cast their votes against during a time of continued economic distress³ and unresolved conflicts across the Middle East. Arab Americans, once considered a political swing group, are now solidly in the Democratic camp, according to the new survey by Zogby International, which was sponsored by the Arab American Institute.

Favoring Democrats

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, points to foreign policy and civil rights as major reasons for the community's support of the Democratic party.

"It is not the party that made the war in Iraq. It is not the party that supported the devastation⁴ of Lebanon. It is not the party that supported and wrote the PATRIOT⁵ act and supported the abuse of civil liberties," says Zogby

The survey shows that Arab-Americans support Democrats two-to-one over Republicans on national security, fighting terrorism and the economy. On the issue of civil liberties, the margin is three-to-one in favor of the Democrats.

The survey was conducted during the last week of September, following weeks of controversy⁶ over plans by a Muslim group to build an Islamic cultural center and mosque⁷ - called Park 51 - near the site of the World Trade Center.

Many opponents of the project were conservative Republicans, who said building a mosque there would be insensitive to the families of those killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks. Zogby says that reinforced Arab-Americans' tendency to lean toward the Democrats.

Discrimination

Nearly half of those polled also report experiencing discrimination.

"When we asked Arab-Americans, 41 percent said they have been discriminated⁸ against because of their ethnicity. They are sensitive to these issues because they know when it does not smell right , does not feel right," says Zogby. "People are not going to vote Park 51, that is not going to be the cause of the vote, but it has created an atmosphere which reinforces a sense of not being welcomed, of not being included."

Zogby says the Arab-American vote in the midterm elections will be significant in Pennsylvania, Ohio, California and Florida, where there are large Arab-American communities. He expects a very significant impact in Michigan, where Arab-Americans make up five percent of registered voters.

Increased participation⁹

Hassan Jaber, executive director of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services in Michigan, says one of the center's goals is to increase Arab-American political participation in the state.

"Detroit is one of the largest Arab-American communities in the nation and the community is extremely dynamic and engaged," says Jaber. "We have seen more engagement in the political process and obviously the Arab-American community has a lot of economic clout¹⁰ in Detroit, so it is significant. We work with community leaders in making sure that we maximize the engagement of Arab-Americans and that there will be coordination¹¹ among Arab-American organizations."

According to Jaber, similar efforts are being made in many other Arab-American communities throughout the U.S., but there is a special focus on Michigan.

"There are scheduled fundraising events almost every evening this week, there is, in Michigan, recognition of the size and of the power of Arab-Americans and we are very happy with the level of engagement."

Jaber says candidates often attend these fundraising events, where Arab-American voters express their concerns over the rising trend of discrimination and the racial profiling of Arabs and Muslims at American airports.

The Zogby poll indicates that jobs and the economy are the top priority for 70 percent of Arab-American voters, followed by the war in Iraq, Middle East peace efforts and other foreign policy concerns.

On virtually every one of these issues, respondents said that the Democrats would do a better job than the Republicans and that they favor a Democratic-controlled Congress. Mid-term elections will be held on November 2, 2010.
 

1 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》

2 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

3 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

4 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 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。

7 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

8 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？

9 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

10 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

11 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。