VOA常速英语2018--民主党阻挠无效 卡瓦纳当选美国大法官（在线收听）

On this vote, the “yes” are 51, the “no” are 49. The motion is agreed to. By a narrow margin, the Senate moved to a final debate and vote on the Kavanagh nomination, led by Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell. Today we can send a message to the American people that some core principles remain unfettered by the partisan passions of this moment. Facts matter. Fairness matters. The presumption of innocence is sacrosanct. All but one of the Senate’s 52 Republicans supported Kavanagh on the procedural vote, including last-minute decider Susan Collins of Maine.

在这次投票中，赞成票有51张，反对票有49张，所以该动议通过了。在票数相差不大的情况下，参议院进入了最终的讨论环节，并对卡瓦纳的提名进行投票，整个过程由参议院中的共和党领袖明奇·麦康奈尔组织。今天，我们要向美国人民传递一个讯息，即一些核心原则不会受到此时党派情绪的影响。重要的在于是否符合事实，是否足够公正。无罪推定的原则是神圣不可侵犯的。参议院的52位共和党人中有51位在程序性投票中给卡瓦纳投了赞成票，其中包括缅因州最后一分钟才做出决定的苏珊·柯林斯。

We must always remember that it is when passions are most inflamed, that fairness is most in jeopardy. At the White House, spokeswoman Sarah Sanders was upbeat. I think he has been through like I said more than any other nominee in history, and I think once that vote is confirmed, we should be able to move forward.

我们必须要永远牢记激情何时会被扑灭，而公正又是何时濒临消糜。白宫发言人萨拉·桑德斯持乐观态度。我认为卡瓦纳经历的比厉害上任何一位提名者都要多，而且我认为一旦票数锁定，我们就不应该沉浸在落定的尘埃之中了。

There were more anti-Cavanaugh protests during the vote Friday, and Democrats with one exception opposed him, including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. Let them look back on this chapter, as the shameful culmination of the scorched earth politics practiced by the hard right in America, people who will stop at nothing to entrench an advantage on our nation’s courts. Cavanaugh’s nomination ran into trouble after an allegation of sexual assault by California Professor Christine Blasey Ford.

周五进行票选期间，反对卡瓦纳的抗议示威一浪高过一浪，而民主党人中除了一人外，剩下的都反对卡瓦纳，其中就包括参议院的民主党领袖查克·舒默。让他们回顾这一时期，看看强硬右派焦灼而又下作的政治猫腻是如何以可耻的方式达到巅峰的。美国人民会不惜一切在国家的法庭上建立起优势。卡瓦纳的提名遇到了麻烦，这是因为加州教授克里斯汀·布莱西·福特对其提起性侵犯的诉讼。

Both Kavanagh and Ford testified at an emotional Senate hearing last week where Kavanagh denied the allegation. Other women also came forward alleging sexual assault which he also denied, but Cavanaugh’s aggressive defense did not sit well with Democrats, like Senator Dianne Feinstein. Judges are expected to be quote even-handed, unbiased, impartial, and courteous, and quote, however, at the hearing last week, we saw a man filled with anger and aggression. Cavanaugh’s confirmation would give the Trump Whitehouse a major political victory. He would also solidify a conservative majority on the nine-member High Court for the foreseeable future.

卡瓦纳和福特上周都在参议院的一场听证会提供了证词，场上氛围极具感染性。卡瓦纳当场否认了福特的指控。还有其他多位女性现身指控卡瓦纳有性侵行为，对此，卡瓦纳一并否认了。但卡瓦纳激进的自我辩护惹得民主党很不舒服，参议员黛安娜·范斯坦就是其中一个。我们对法官的预期是一视同仁、毫无偏见、不偏不倚、谦卑有礼等等，但在上周的听证会上，我们看到的是一个怒气冲天、怼天怼地的男子。卡瓦纳当选大法官对于特朗普政府来说是一次重大的政治胜利。卡瓦纳还可以在可见的未来内稳固9人组成的高等法庭中的保守派多数。