美国国家公共电台 NPR Devin Nunes' Re-Election Tests Whether All Politics Are Now National

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We go next to California's Central Valley. It's an agricultural region, the source of half the fruit, nuts and vegetables eaten in America, and also home to Congressman¹ Devin Nunes. But ag policy is not what drives his national profile. The Republican who is seeking re-election is chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, known for his defense² of President Trump³ and criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller. NPR's Tim Mak has more.

TIM MAK, BYLINE⁴: In 2016, Devin Nunes won re-election by 35 percentage points. Now the eight-term Republican is in for the tightest race of his political life. Polls taken in the last few months suggest it could be a single-digit race.

LIZ MAIR: He's made a decision that he can pretty much do what he wants and ignore local concerns if he just nationalizes this whole race.

MAK: That's Liz Mair, a Republican who runs the Swamp Accountability Project and is opposing Nunes as part of her organization's effort to protect Mueller's Russia investigation⁵. The big question in this race is whether a congressman can run primarily on national stature⁶ while paying little attention to local issues. His national profile is a double-edged sword. Though he's raised a tremendous amount of money, Nunes' unwavering support of Trump has put a spotlight⁷ on him that he's never had before. In the district, constituents⁹ care deeply about agriculture, immigration and water, but Nunes has spent much of his time focused on criticizing Mueller and blocking additional investigations¹⁰ into potential Trump-Russia ties.

ANDREW JANZ: The Russia issue is relevant insofar as it takes away the political capital that he has now in Washington to focus on what people care about here.

MAK: That's Nunes' opponent Andrew Janz, who says he's the one who can give local representation to the district.

JANZ: I think that this race is about taking back the Central Valley.

MAK: While Janz has received about 28 percent of his campaign funds from outside his state, according to Open Secrets, Nunes has received more than half of his money from outside California. Mair, who lives in Virginia, received a fundraising appeal from Nunes' California congressional campaign and provided NPR a copy.

MAIR: It reads, (reading) your generous contribution from Virginia is exactly what I need right now to push back on the constant attacks from the radical¹¹ left.

MAK: Meanwhile, Nunes has also been hard to reach for his ordinary constituents. He has not held a town hall since before the last election. Even Michael Der Manouel Jr., a prominent Nunes supporter and a local business leader, told NPR that he disagreed with this.

MICHAEL DER MANOUEL JR.: I think public officials should be accessible to their constituents. I know he doesn't - personally he doesn't enjoy that environment much. I think, though, that the hostility¹² directed at him from around the country has made it a lot easier for him to say no to doing these.

MAK: Neither Nunes' campaign nor his congressional office responded to an interview request. And when NPR tried to visit his taxpayer-funded office in the most populated region of his district, it was closed and unstaffed at 2 p.m. on a weekday. Phone calls to that office go straight to voicemail. The only other office in that district is a 45-minute drive away.

LISA BRYANT: And so one of the criticisms of constituents has been he is not accessible.

MAK: That's Lisa Bryant, a professor at Fresno State, which is in the district.

BRYANT: I think if you are a loyal constituent⁸ and/or a donor¹³ to his campaign that he's accessible. He does, you know, fundraiser dinners and things like that. However, if as a regular constituent you want to go to his office and speak to somebody - a staffer in his office, it's very difficult.

MAK: While he's not holding public events, he's blanketing the airwaves with attack ads and even producing alternative media.

(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "THE DEVIN NUNES PODCAST")

DEVIN NUNES: Hi, I'm Devin Nunes, and welcome to my very first podcast.

MAK: Nunes has even picked a fight with his local newspaper, The Fresno Bee. The Bee's editorial board declined to endorse¹⁴ him for the first time in 16 years after he refused to meet with them. In an unprecedented¹⁵ move, Nunes produced a 40-page, high-end glossy¹⁶ magazine that suggests that the newspaper is after him because of their supposed communist sympathies. His supporters are with him on this. Here's Der Manouel again.

MANOUEL JR.: I mean, I've lived in this valley my whole life except for six years, OK? I stopped taking the paper this year.

MAK: It's a unique strategy in this contentious¹⁷ midterm cycle. So while Nunes has traditionally coasted to victory, his views on Russia and the president may make for a nerve-wracking election night if a blue wave materializes. Tim Mak, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF LAKEY INSPIRED'S "STREET DREAMS")

1 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。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 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。

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 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

7 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

8 constituent   

n.选民；成分，组分；adj.组成的，构成的

参考例句：

• Sugar is the main constituent of candy.食糖是糖果的主要成分。
• Fibre is a natural constituent of a healthy diet.纤维是健康饮食的天然组成部分。

9 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

11 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

12 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

13 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。

14 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

15 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

16 glossy   

adj.平滑的；有光泽的

参考例句：

• I like these glossy spots.我喜欢这些闪闪发光的花点。
• She had glossy black hair.她长着乌黑发亮的头发。

17 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。