VOA标准英语 Specter Defection Latest Setback For Republicans

U.S. Senator Arlen Specter's decision to defect from the Republican Party and become a Democrat¹ is the latest setback² for a party still reeling from national election defeats in 2008 and 2006.

Political survival appears to be the immediate³ reason for Senator Specter's party switch.

Specter acknowledged his prospects⁴ in a Republican primary in his home state of Pennsylvania next year were bleak⁵ because tens of thousands of moderates have left the Republican Party in that state and joined the Democrats⁶.

"As the Republican Party has moved farther and farther to the right, I have found myself increasingly at odds⁷ with the Republican philosophy and more in line with the philosophy of the Democratic Party," said Arlen Specter.

Specter also noted⁸ a trend in recent years in which conservative Republican candidates have targeted moderate incumbents⁹ in primary elections.

"They do not make any bones about their willingness to lose the general election if they can purify the party. I do not understand it but that is what they say," he said. "There ought to be a rebellion. There ought to be an uprising."

Senator Specter's conversion¹⁰ is welcome news for Democrats. They are one step closer to securing 60 of the 100 U.S. Senate seats. That would make it harder for Republicans to block President Barack Obama's legislative¹¹ proposals in the Senate through a parliamentary delaying tactic¹² known as the filibuster¹³.
　
Senator Arlen Specter (r) with President Obama at the White House, 29 Apr 2009

President Obama welcomed the Senate's newest Democrat to the White House (Wednesday).

"In fact, I would like to think that Arlen's decision reflects the recognition that this administration is open to many different ideas and many different points of view, that we seek cooperation and common ground," said President Obama.

Specter's defection caught many Republicans by surprise. It is the latest in a series of political setbacks for a party that lost control of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections and lost the White House last November.

Many Republicans sought to minimize the national political fallout from the Specter defection.

Former Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee said on his radio show that Specter was always out of step with the conservative wing of the Republican Party.

"I would feel a little better about it if he would just acknowledge that, 'Folks, I think I am going to get my fanny beat if I go down this trail and I want to stay around here," said Fred Thompson.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Specter's decision was not a national story, but a Pennsylvania story, and said Republicans are eager to do battle in the next congressional midterm elections in 2010.

"We intend to be competitive on a nationwide basis," said Mitch McConnell. "I do not accept that we are going to be a regional party, and we are working very hard to compete throughout the country."

But Democrats do see national implications in the Specter decision.

John Podesta was White House chief of staff for former President Bill Clinton and now heads a liberal public policy research organization in Washington.

"Certainly his decision to leave the Republican Party should be a warning shot, I think, to the leadership in Congress in particular that they have just careened too far off to the right and have left the middle behind," said John Podesta.

Political experts say there are things the Republican Party can do to improve their political prospects before next year's congressional elections.

Stephen Wayne is a presidential scholar at Georgetown University in Washington.

"The Republicans need to broaden their electoral base," said Stephen Wayne. "In the last couple of elections they have lost, by sizable margins¹⁵, the support of young people, first time voters, Hispanics, and women."

Even some Republicans say the party needs to adjust its message and attitude to be more appealing.

Ken¹⁴ Duberstein served as former President Ronald Reagan's chief of staff in the late 1980's, but he endorsed¹⁶ Barack Obama in last year's presidential election.

"They need to be very much positive," said Ken Duberstein. "It is the shining face of Ronald Reagan. It is not the 'just say no' that seems to be dominating the Republicans now. You know, you have to be perceived as interested in governing, not just campaigning."

Duberstein also worries that Republicans are a disappearing political breed in the Northeast, and will have to rely on a shrinking base of support primarily in the South.

"The Republican Party can offer an awful lot, but they have to do that by reaching out, not just to the South or some places in the Midwest, but to contest again in the Northeast and in the West Coast and in the Southwest," he said.

The Democrats may be celebrating now, but experts warn that political fortunes can turn very quickly.

The last time Republicans held only 40 Senate seats was following the election of 1976. But four years later, Republicans captured 12 seats and won a majority in the Senate. It was the same year Ronald Reagan was elected president, and it was also the same year a newcomer named Arlen Specter was elected to his first Senate term in Pennsylvania.

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 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 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。

5 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

6 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》

7 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 incumbents   

教区牧师( incumbent的名词复数 )； 教会中的任职者

参考例句：

• In general, incumbents have a 94 percent chance of being reelected. 通常现任官员有94%的几率会再次当选。
• This arangement yields a wonderful gain to incumbents. 这种安排为在职人员提供了意外的得益。

10 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

11 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

12 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

13 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

14 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

15 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

16 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》