美国国家公共电台 NPR Rise Of LGBTQ Candidates Could Usher In A 'Rainbow Wave' In 2018

Rise Of LGBTQ Candidates Could Usher¹ In A 'Rainbow Wave' In 2018

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Democrats² have a lot of diverse candidates running this year. There's a record number of women, African-Americans and Native Americans running in some high-profile races. And as NPR's Jessica Taylor reports, there's also a surge of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender candidates all across the country.

JESSICA TAYLOR, BYLINE³: Massachusetts Democratic congressional candidate Rufus Gifford recalls watching other people run for office when he was a teenager, and there weren't role models for him as he was struggling with his sexuality. It's something he talks candidly⁴ about in one of his TV ads.

(SOUNDBITE OF AD)

RUFUS GIFFORD: As someone who has been called names, has been discriminated⁵ against, as someone who wasn't taken seriously for a lot of his life because of this, it made me initially⁶ want to fight for the 15-year-old version of me.

TAYLOR: Gifford is running today in a crowded primary for an open seat in Massachusetts' 3rd District. He's a former U.S. ambassador to Denmark under President Obama, but the 2016 elections spurred him to step up and put his own name on the ballot⁷.

GIFFORD: The Trump⁸ election was really the catalyst⁹.

TAYLOR: Gifford is one of hundreds of LGBTQ candidates on the ballot this year who say they've been pushed off the sidelines, fearing their rights are under attack. Three years after the Supreme¹⁰ Court legalized gay marriage, they now see the Trump administration working to bar transgender people from serving in the military and promoting religious freedom laws they say would legalize discrimination. There have been 430 LGBTQ candidates this year running for office at every level of government. That's according to the Victory Fund, which endorses¹¹ viable¹² gay and transgender candidates.

ANNISE PARKER: I think candidates are running because they see it's possible.

TAYLOR: Annise Parker is the Fund's president. She was also the first lesbian mayor of a major U.S. city when she was elected Houston's mayor in 2009.

PARKER: They see the need for more LGBTQ candidates to get involved in the process. But they now see clear evidence that we can win at the very highest levels of government.

TAYLOR: Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin was the first elected lesbian senator, and she's up for re-election this year. If elected, Arizona Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema would become the first bisexual senator. Sinema is one of only six current LGBTQ lawmakers in the House. Half of them are running for higher office, but their numbers could likely grow next year. There will be at least 22 LGBTQ candidates on congressional ballots¹³ this fall, several in highly competitive districts that will determine control of the House. One of those candidates is Angie Craig, who's running in Minnesota's 2nd District in the suburbs of the Twin Cities. Craig would be the first lesbian mom ever to serve in Congress.

ANGIE CRAIG: I'm so proud of my wife and our four sons. And, you know, I'm not running because, you know, I'd be the first lesbian mom, but that's pretty cool that I would be.

TAYLOR: But her journey to become a mom is part of what drove her to run for office. When she and her then-partner were living in Tennessee and decided¹⁴ to adopt a baby, she was caught in a three-year legal battle after the birth mother's parents sued to challenge their fitness to raise a child. Today, her son Josh is 20.

CRAIG: When you get up every single day for three years and you don't know whether you're going to be able to put your son to bed that night, certainly it makes you unafraid of anything. And I think when I'm running for Congress, I always remembered no matter how tough it gets, there'll never be anything more difficult than what I faced back in Tennessee.

TAYLOR: That theme of struggle is one many LGBTQ candidates echo. Christine Hallquist made history when she won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination¹⁵ in Vermont. She's the first transgender person ever to win a major party's nomination for governor. In an interview with MORNING EDITION after her victory, Hallquist recalled how hard her transition had already been.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

CHRISTINE HALLQUIST: I dealt with not being authentic¹⁶ my whole life, and transitioning was clearly the hardest thing that I could ever imagine doing.

TAYLOR: Hallquist is one of four LGBT Democratic nominees¹⁷ for governor running this cycle. In fact, they represent every part of that acronym¹⁸. Lupe Valdez in Texas is lesbian. Congressman¹⁹ Jared Polis in Colorado is gay. Incumbent²⁰ Oregon Governor Kate Brown - the first LGBTQ person ever to win a governor's race - is bisexual, and Hallquist is transgender. These Democrats are not just hoping for a blue wave this fall. They're hoping for a rainbow wave, too.

Jessica Taylor, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF KINACK'S "HARD TRAVEL")

1 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

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 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。

4 candidly   

adv.坦率地，直率而诚恳地

参考例句：

• He has stopped taking heroin now,but admits candidly that he will always be a drug addict.他眼下已经不再吸食海洛因了,不过他坦言自己永远都是个瘾君子。
• Candidly,David,I think you're being unreasonable.大卫，说实话我认为你不讲道理。

5 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？

6 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

7 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。

8 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。

9 catalyst   

n.催化剂，造成变化的人或事

参考例句：

• A catalyst is a substance which speeds up a chemical reaction.催化剂是一种能加速化学反应的物质。
• The workers'demand for better conditions was a catalyst for social change.工人们要求改善工作条件促进了社会变革。

10 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。

11 endorses   

v.赞同( endorse的第三人称单数 )；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：

• There isn't one country in the Middle East that now endorses the Eisenhower Doctrine. 但至今没有一个中东国家认可它。 来自辞典例句
• Whether any of this truly endorses Dr Patel's hypothesis is moot. 这些视频能否真正证明帕特的假设成立还是个未知数。 来自互联网

12 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

13 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

15 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

16 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

17 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

18 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

19 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。

20 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。