2014年经济学人 科罗拉多州参议院竞选

The race for the Senate: Colorado

High, tolerant and Republican?

In a state that smiles on pot and same-sex marriage, Democrats² are in trouble

RECREATIONAL pot is legal in Colorado. So, from this week, is gay marriage. So you might think liberals would find it easy to win elections here. Yet Barack Obama is so unpopular in Colorado that when Mark Udall, a Democratic senator fighting for re-election, skipped one of his own fundraisers at the last minute, everyone assumed it was because Mr Obama was to headline it.

This is quite a turnaround. Like several Democrats in swing states, Mr Udall was first elected to the Senate on Mr Obama's coat-tails in 2008. Now, like practically every vulnerable Democrat¹, he is trying to distance himself from the president—something footage of the two men hugging might have made trickier³.

The Republican Senate candidate in Colorado, a young, charismatic congressman⁴ with a Mona Lisa smile called Cory Gardner, calls Mr Udall a rubber stamp for Mr Obama. Mr Udall calls Mr Gardner “extreme” (and indeed, in 2012 he was named as one of the most conservative members of the House of Representatives). But Mr Gardner has run a strong campaign in a state that has moved leftward in recent years, as more young people and Latinos have moved in. With less than a month to go, the race is a dead heat. If it flips⁵, so, probably, will the Senate.

The Rocky Mountain State wasn't always swing territory. Before Mr Obama, no Democratic presidential candidate except Bill Clinton had carried it since 1964. But in recent years a Democratic state legislature has pushed through a series of liberal bills, for example to enforce background checks for gun-owners and allow in-state college tuition for illegal immigrants. Progressives in college towns such as Boulder⁶ applaud, but conservatives in other parts of Colorado are fed up.

“There's no big issue in this race,” says Floyd Ciruli, an independent pollster. “It's become entirely⁷ about accusing people of being extremists or puppets of Obama.” Mr Udall has tried to rally female voters by accusing Mr Gardner of being a footsoldier in the so-called Republican “war on women”. About half of Mr Udall's TV spots have focused on abortion⁸ and contraception. A voice-over in one said Mr Gardner had sponsored a bill to “make abortion a felony, including in cases of rape⁹ and incest” and had “championed an eight-year crusade to outlaw¹⁰ birth control”.

The ad was referring to Mr Gardner's support for a so-called “personhood” ballot¹¹ measure, which would have endowed fetuses¹² with the same rights as people from the moment of conception. No state has ever passed such a measure—Colorado rejected it by 71% to 29%. And were such a law to pass, it would quickly be struck down by the courts. But critics say that, if “personhood” became law, it might make contraceptives such as intra-uterine devices illegal, because they could prevent the implantation of a fertilised egg.

Inconstant Gardner

In March Mr Gardner announced he had changed his mind; he said he hadn't realised the “personhood” measure would restrict access to contraception, telling the Denver Post: “I don't get everything right the first time.” Mr Gardner then announced in June that he favoured allowing birth-control pills to be sold without a prescription¹³. Republicans in several states have aired the same proposal. They say it would make it easier for women to obtain contraception, and would lower the overall cost, since it would not involve a trip to a doctor. Democrats retort that since many insurance policies do not cover over-the-counter drugs, the cost borne by the women themselves would rise.

Mr Gardner's political jujitsu seems to have made an impression on voters. He scares moderate voters far less than Ken¹⁴ Buck¹⁵, the Republican Senate candidate in 2010, who called homosexuality “a choice” and asked voters to back him because he didn't wear “high heels”. Some voters, moreover, think Mr Udall focuses too single-mindedly on reproductive rights, and have cruelly dubbed¹⁶ him “Mark Uterus”.

Critics say Mr Udall's negative campaign reflects his lack of accomplishments¹⁷. He comes from an old political family: his father ran for president in 1976, and his cousin is a US senator from New Mexico. But “the problem is that Udall just hasn't done a whole lot,” says Mr Ciruli, the pollster. This is not fair. He is the best golfer in Congress. He is also a reliable eco-warrior, voted against the Patriot¹⁸ Act because of his belief in privacy and battled with the NSA over its spying on Americans. On the campaign trail he stresses his love of civil liberties and independence from Mr Obama.

Mr Udall is not the only Democrat in Colorado who is struggling to stay in office. Governor John Hickenlooper finds himself in an equally tight race against Bob Beauprez, a former dairy farmer and congressman. In recent years Mr Hickenlooper, a former mayor of Denver, has struggled with a lefty legislature, working behind the scenes to temper some measures, but failing to veto much. He has alienated¹⁹ his base, who see him as too moderate, and upset moderates, who see him as too liberal, says Eric Sondermann, a political analyst²⁰. “There is a cumulative²¹ sense in Colorado that the Democrats pushed their agenda too far in the legislature. Now they are paying the price.”

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 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》

3 trickier   

adj.狡猾的( tricky的比较级 )；（形势、工作等）复杂的；机警的；微妙的

参考例句：

• This is the general rule, but some cases are trickier than others. 以上是一般规则，但某些案例会比别的案例更为棘手。 来自互联网
• The lower the numbers go, the trickier the problems get. 武器的数量越低，问题就越复杂。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 flips   

轻弹( flip的第三人称单数 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• Larry flips on the TV while he is on vacation in Budapest. 赖瑞在布达佩斯渡假时，打开电视收看节目。
• He flips through a book before making a decision. 他在决定买下一本书前总要先草草翻阅一下。

6 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

8 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

9 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

10 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

11 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

12 fetuses   

n.胎，胎儿( fetus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• DNA was extracted from fetuses at mid-gestation, about 10 days past conception. DNA从受孕大约10天后的中期妊娠胚胎中提取。 来自互联网
• Brucellosis is a disease that causes fetuses to abort in cattle. 普鲁士菌病是一种可以导致牲畜胎儿夭折的疾病。 来自互联网

13 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

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 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

16 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

18 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。

19 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 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。

21 cumulative   

adj.累积的，渐增的

参考例句：

• This drug has a cumulative effect.这种药有渐增的效力。
• The benefits from eating fish are cumulative.吃鱼的好处要长期才能显现。