Voters in Michigan's 7th Congressional District weigh in on issues ahead of midterms

Voters in Michigan's 7th Congressional District weigh in on issues ahead of midterms

Transcript¹

Democrats³ aim to balance multiple crises ahead of November's midterm elections. Voters in Livingston County, Mich., share their concerns about inflation and their views of President Biden.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Midterm elections are often hard for a president's party. And this year, Democrats have even more reasons than usual to worry. Polling shows the president's approval rating in the low 40s. And Democrats have no seats to spare in the Senate or the House. NPR White House correspondent Asma Khalid has been talking with voters. Hey there.

ASMA KHALID, BYLINE⁴: Hi there. Good morning.

INSKEEP: What did you learn?

KHALID: Well, Steve, the simplest explanation is that voters seem frustrated⁵. They're frustrated with a pandemic that doesn't seem to go away, with rising prices that they haven't seen in decades or, frankly⁶, just with the general state of the country. There's a sort of bipartisan angst. Lanae Erickson is with the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way. And she told me that Joe Biden had promised voters a return to normalcy. But that hasn't entirely⁷ happened.

LANAE ERICKSON: Right now, voters have been in a really ornery mood. And, you know, that's a combination of inflation, supply chains, worker shortages. People are still feeling like things are a little off.

INSKEEP: Do people who are getting ready to vote this fall blame the president for that and even act like the president is on the ballot⁸?

KHALID: Well, I will say, Steve, you know, whether any Democrat² likes it or not, the president is really symbolically⁹ on the ballot this November. That is typically the case in a midterm election. And I wanted to understand how this dynamic is playing out in one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country. So I flew to Detroit and then drove about an hour west to Livingston County. And because inflation is the top concern in just about every poll, my first stop was Walmart.

(SOUNDBITE OF CART RATTLING)

KHALID: I met Walt Hickok (ph) in the parking lot. He's 75 and still works part-time. And like a lot of people lately, he's annoyed by the uptick in prices.

WALT HICKOK: It seems every time I go down the road that something has gone up five, 10, 15 cents. Some things I've seen go up as much as 25 cents in one jump. I don't know where it came from. I don't really attribute it to the war because it started before the war.

KHALID: Hickok is a self-described conservative who says, ultimately, he thinks the president is part of the root cause.

HICKOK: I think all the giving of money to everybody has...

KHALID: The stimulus¹⁰ checks, you're talking about. Yeah.

HICKOK: Yeah. It has not helped the country, in my opinion, because now you find signs everywhere that says, we need people to work.

KHALID: This, by the way, is not an isolated¹¹ opinion. A letter from the San Francisco Fed last month argued that the U.S. is experiencing higher inflation in part because of pandemic aid Congress passed under both President Biden and President Trump¹². The catch, economists¹³ say, is that without those big spending measures, the economy could have tipped into a recession. Another person I met was Michael Ovorus (ph). And he was at a local grocery chain called Meijer in the neighboring city of Brighton. Ovorus is a retired¹⁴ engineer who says he first started noticing prices going up last summer.

MICHAEL OVORUS: What can you expect, you know, with the COVID epidemic¹⁵, where the economy stopped to, like, zero. It's one big mess, you know? And it's going to take time to get through.

KHALID: Ovorus has this fatalist attitude. He thinks inflation could last another year or so. But Democrats like him generally do not fault the president. They blame the pandemic, the war in Ukraine or even greedy corporations. Realistically, there is little any president can do to curb¹⁶ inflation. But analysts¹⁷ say Biden needs to look like he's trying because the problem is so pervasive¹⁸. Just about every person I talked to had an earful to share.

KRISTA WILCOX: We are buying significantly less - like, we're shopping like this now, a small cart.

KHALID: That's Krista Wilcox (ph). She was putting groceries into the trunk with her husband, Trevor (ph).

K WILCOX: And we're a dual-income family.

KHALID: And do you feel like you understand why the prices are going up? Is there - or any sense...

K WILCOX: No.

TREVOR: No.

KHALID: Do you believe anyone or do you blame anything for it?

K WILCOX: Well, COVID.

TREVOR: You know, the Biden administration (laughter).

K WILCOX: Yeah, COVID.

KHALID: You blame COVID...

K WILCOX: Yeah, I'm going to say so.

KHALID: ...And you blame Biden?

TREVOR: The administration. Yeah. There's a lot of things they could do.

KHALID: I asked Trevor what exactly does he think Biden could do? And he turns to gas prices.

TREVOR: We've got plenty reserves here. There's no reason that we have to rely on other countries to get our oil, you know? We have plenty of it here.

KHALID: This is something the GOP is trying to capitalize on. Republican Tom Barrett is hoping to unseat the Democratic congresswoman in this district, Elissa Slotkin. And the other morning, he held a press conference outside of a gas station.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TOM BARRETT: The administration first told us that inflation was transitory. Then they tried to tell us it was a good thing. Then they tried to tell us it would be passing. And then last, they tried to blame it on Vladimir Putin.

KHALID: Barrett is trying to tether Slotkin to the president. In a statement, Slotkin told me she has been pushing the White House to do more to fight inflation, to suspend the federal gas tax or open up the strategic oil reserves even further. Local Democrats say the messaging out of Washington is a problem. So they're trying to create their own story. On one of the days I was out in Michigan, I caught up with Brenda Lindsay. She was gathering¹⁹ signatures for a couple of statewide petitions.

(CROSSTALK)

KHALID: Lindsay leads a local Indivisible group in the country. Y'all might remember, Indivisible is this grassroots, progressive group that sprung up after Donald Trump's election.

BRENDA LINDSAY: Joe Biden is probably what we needed. It's not that he himself is terrible. It's the Democrats aren't as effective as they need to be with messaging. So I don't know. Should messaging coming from the president? I don't know. We're suffering incredibly from messaging and holding others accountable right now.

KHALID: Lindsay says people in her circle will no doubt still vote in November. They're activists²⁰. But the energy is nowhere near where it was during the last midterm election. Young people, for example, were key to Democratic wins in 2018 and 2020. And a key question is whether they will be there this year, especially first-time voters. Brady McAdams (ph) is a 19-year-old nursing student at Michigan State. She says she feels like a lot of people got tricked into voting for Biden.

BRADY MCADAMS: He hasn't fulfilled his promises. I think he's not doing enough for the people that he said he would.

KHALID: Her major complaint is student loan forgiveness. Young voters also mention immigration.

MCADAMS: I feel like we were promised so many things about so many new changes, and we were going to, like, get back on track. I don't feel like we're getting on track. I feel like we're just not doing anything.

INSKEEP: Some of the voters talking with our colleague, Asma Khalid, who's still with us. And, Asma, as I listen to those voters, I think about this interview we had with Jim Clyburn, the president's friend and supporter in Congress, a few months ago, who said other people need to get out there and tout²¹ the president's accomplishments²². He may be - he's not going to be the best speaker. But other people can do that and that there are accomplishments to push. Do you think that there are some Democrats who feel that the president is being unfairly targeted or unfairly overlooked?

KHALID: You're right. You know, Steve, there are certainly Democrats who point to things like the passage of the infrastructure²³ bill, nominating the first Black woman to the Supreme²⁴ Court, low unemployment levels and say that the president has done a lot and that he's getting unfairly blamed for things out of control - his control, you know, like a pandemic and a war. But I will say, Lanae Erickson, with that Democratic think tank Third Way, told me that she worries 2022 could be a rough hill to climb still for Democrats.

ERICKSON: You know, if the president's approval rating is 42%, it's going to be difficult for anyone to outperform him by nine or 10 points. That's just very difficult in modern politics.

KHALID: And frankly, Steve, the big test will be if Democrats in competitive races ultimately try to drop the president altogether and try to create their own distinct brand, which, I will say, we have not really seen publicly yet.

INSKEEP: NPR's Asma Khalid, always a pleasure.

KHALID: Happy to do it.

(SOUNDBITE OF BILL LAURANCE'S "THE GOOD THINGS")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 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。

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 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。

5 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

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 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。

9 symbolically   

ad.象征地，象征性地

参考例句：

• By wearing the ring on the third finger of the left hand, a married couple symbolically declares their eternal love for each other. 将婚戒戴在左手的第三只手指上，意味着夫妻双方象征性地宣告他们的爱情天长地久，他们定能白头偕老。
• Symbolically, he coughed to clear his throat. 周经理象征地咳一声无谓的嗽，清清嗓子。

10 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

11 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

12 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

13 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

15 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

16 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

17 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。

18 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

19 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

20 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 tout   

v.推销，招徕；兜售；吹捧，劝诱

参考例句：

• They say it will let them tout progress in the war.他们称这将有助于鼓吹他们在战争中的成果。
• If your case studies just tout results,don't bother requiring registration to view them.如果你的案例研究只是吹捧结果，就别烦扰别人来注册访问了。

22 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》

23 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

24 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。