美国国家公共电台 NPR As More Democrats Embrace 'Progressive' Label, It May Not Mean What It Used To

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Here's a trend. Far more Democrats¹ are describing themselves as progressive these days than they did four years ago. There are strategic reasons candidates are embracing this label. But one major reason, as NPR's Asma Khalid reports, could be that the word is flexible. It can mean different things in different states.

ASMA KHALID, BYLINE²: Tony Evers is not a fiery³ liberal demanding free college for all. He's a soft-spoken bureaucrat⁴, a former teacher and school administrator⁵ now running for governor in Wisconsin trying to prevent the Republican Scott Walker from winning a third term. Evers offers talks a lot about improving basic public services.

TONY EVERS: The people of Wisconsin - they care whether their roads are safe. They care whether they have a good education system. They care about having access to affordable⁶ health care. That is progressivism for me.

KHALID: Evers has a habit of calling himself a progressive. It's even in his Twitter bio.

EVERS: Progressivism means to me solving problems that people have. It's not a Republican issue. It's not a Democratic issue.

KHALID: But Evers was never the most liberal candidate in the Wisconsin primary. And at a recent rally he had with Bernie Sanders, some Democrats in the crowd, like Dylan Fairweather, were not exactly sure if they would put Sanders and Evers in the same bucket.

DYLAN FAIRWEATHER: I don't know if I would call him a progressive. I guess, like, if he's going to call himself that, then, like, go ahead. Do your thing.

KHALID: What Evers is trying to do is tap into a distinct Wisconsin version of progressive politics. The state has had a long tradition of economic populism. And you hear echoes of that when Evers campaigns, talking about Medicaid expansion and a $15 minimum wage.

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EVERS: And we're going to give every middle-class family in the state of Wisconsin a 10 percent break on their income taxes 'cause those are the people that have been struggling all along under Scott Walker.

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KHALID: Evers' vision of progressive politics is about standing⁷ up to big business and ensuring average people get a voice in government. And hundreds of miles to the south in Florida, there's another guy running for governor who shares those concerns about the economy and Medicaid expansion.

ANDREW GILLUM: When we talk about health care and access to health care - to me, there's nothing, you know, out of the mainstream⁸ about folks getting access to lifesaving medicine.

KHALID: Andrew Gillum is the 39-year-old mayor of Tallahassee trying to become Florida's first black governor. His campaign style is nothing like Evers'. His supporters like to say that he is unapologetically black and charismatic. Evers, on the other hand, is described as bland⁹, even by his supporters. Gillum, like Evers, talks a lot about the economy and the need to campaign in red parts of the state where Democrats don't usually go. But where Evers is cautious and careful around culture war issues like immigration or guns, Gillum emphasizes those very same things. He's repeatedly spoken about the need to take on the NRA.

GILLUM: I realize that the status quo of our party, and maybe even the status quo of politics, says that those are, you know, lines by which you have to stay away from if you want to win in a state like mine. But I think our primary race really blew that to shreds¹⁰.

KHALID: Gillum also wants to repeal¹¹ the state's controversial "stand your ground" law. The law gives Floridians the right to act in self-defence even to the point of using deadly force.

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GILLUM: And in my state where I live, the law is such that you can go antagonize, push the bear, start a fight and then hide behind "stand your ground" when somebody responds.

KHALID: Gillum says his own experiences have informed his public policies. What Gillum also does is mix progressive politics with race. Here he is at a recent debate calling out his GOP opponent for accepting money from a donor¹² who falsely described former President Obama as a Muslim and used a racial slur¹³.

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GILLUM: Now, I'm not calling Mr. DeSantis a racist¹⁴. I'm simply saying the racists believe he's a racist.

(LAUGHTER)

KHALID: While research shows that white Democratic voters are increasingly likely to describe their political views as liberal compared to a decade ago, black voters - not so much. What this means is that a progressive candidate of color can build a coalition¹⁵ based on ideology¹⁶ and identity. And that's a strategy Democrats who will run for president in 2020 are going to be watching closely. Asma Khalid, NPR News.

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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 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。

3 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

4 bureaucrat   

n. 官僚作风的人，官僚，官僚政治论者

参考例句：

• He was just another faceless bureaucrat.他只不过是一个典型呆板的官员。
• The economy is still controlled by bureaucrats.经济依然被官僚们所掌控。

5 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

6 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。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

9 bland   

adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的

参考例句：

• He eats bland food because of his stomach trouble.他因胃病而吃清淡的食物。
• This soup is too bland for me.这汤我喝起来偏淡。

10 shreds   

v.撕碎，切碎( shred的第三人称单数 )；用撕毁机撕毁（文件）

参考例句：

• Peel the carrots and cut them into shreds. 将胡罗卜削皮，切成丝。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I want to take this diary and rip it into shreds. 我真想一赌气扯了这日记。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

11 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。

12 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

13 slur   

v.含糊地说；诋毁；连唱；n.诋毁；含糊的发音

参考例句：

• He took the remarks as a slur on his reputation.他把这些话当作是对他的名誉的中伤。
• The drug made her speak with a slur.药物使她口齿不清。

14 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

15 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。

16 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。