VOA标准英语2012--Wisconsin Vote Could Impact US Presidential Election

 

Wisconsin Vote Could Impact US Presidential Election

It was a moment of sweet vindication¹ for Wisconsin’s embattled Republican governor, Scott Walker.

“Voters really do want leaders who stand up and make the tough decisions,” Walker said.

Walker angered labor² unions and Democrats³ with a push for budget cuts that included stripping away collective bargaining rights for public employees.

That led to weeks of angry protests and a recall effort to replace Walker with the Democratic mayor of Milwaukee, Tom Barrett.

Analysts⁴ say Republicans should be encouraged by the Walker victory as they look toward the November election matchup between President Barack Obama and his expected Republican challenger, former Massachusetts governor Mitt⁵ Romney.

“Mitt Romney certainly will take from Wisconsin that voters still care very much about spending, debt, deficits⁶ and ways to control it. And being austere⁷ and looking for fiscal⁸ responsibility can be popular,” said John Fortier, director of the Democracy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington.

The Wisconsin results could also serve as a warning to Democrats and President Obama.

“I think they should be a bit worried. I think their overall position is one where they are looking for a very close election and they are going to have to worry about some states that were quite safe for them in 2008, states like Wisconsin and Iowa,” Fortier said.

The Romney campaign is taking heart from the Wisconsin results.

“Look, I’m convinced this man is out of ideas, I know he is out of excuses and in 2012 you are going to make sure we vote him out of office!,” Romney said to supporters in Texas.

But exit polls of Wisconsin voters show they still plan to back the president over Romney come Election Day, welcome news as Obama tries to rally his supporters with help from former President Bill Clinton.

“We have worked too hard and too long to right the ship and move us in the right direction. We are not going backwards⁹. We are going forward,” Obama said.

The economy remains¹⁰ the decisive issue in this year’s election, says Gallup pollster Frank Newport.

“And right now all of our data suggests that in this 2012 election it is the U.S. economy that is the defining issue on voter’s minds when they say, hmm, who should I vote for,” Newport said.

The latest polls show the president and Romney essentially¹¹ tied five months before the election. 

1 vindication   

n.洗冤，证实

参考例句：

• There is much to be said in vindication of his claim.有很多理由可以提出来为他的要求作辩护。
• The result was a vindication of all our efforts.这一结果表明我们的一切努力是必要的。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

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 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。

5 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

6 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

7 austere   

adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的

参考例句：

• His way of life is rather austere.他的生活方式相当简朴。
• The room was furnished in austere style.这间屋子的陈设都很简单朴素。

8 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

9 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。