VOA慢速英语2014 美国政界人士将亚裔美国选民设为目标

 

AS IT IS 2014-10-22 US Politicians Target Asian American Voters 美国政界人士将亚裔美国选民设为目标

Asians are the fastest-growing minority in the United States. Political scientists say Asian Americans are starting to have an influence on U.S. politics. There now are more Asian Americans in Congress than ever before.                    

In many areas, political candidates are reaching out to Asian Americans in an effort to get their support in the elections next month.

Political campaigns are urging people across the United States to vote in the November 4th elections. In the Los Angeles area, campaign volunteers are contacting likely voters, including many Asian Americans. Tanzila Ahmed is a voting expert. She says it is overly simplistic to think of Asian Americans as a single group.

“One of the biggest issues, people think Asians are this big monolithic¹ group and we’re not. We’re so different.”

But she notes that something has changed this election season.

“I think now, for the first time, we see politicians actually going (saying), ‘Wait a second, who are these people? How can we get them to be a part of our campaign, get them to be a part of our party?’”

That is because Asian American voters are having an influence on election results nationwide. California Congresswoman Judy Chu heads the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus².

“In certain states, they (Asians) are providing a margin³ of victory. For instance, in Nevada and in Virginia, they are a growing percentage that can influence the outcome of really close elections.”

Ms. Chu belongs to the Democratic Party. She is seeking re-election in an area where close to 40 percent of the voters identify themselves as Asian or Pacific Islander. She says language is one of the biggest barriers for politicians when reaching out to these voters.

“There are many for whom English is not the first language. And that means that if you’re going to do voting materials, they really should be translated into the various languages.”

And to reach out to voters through different ethnic⁵ media. David Artan from Indonesia says he gets most of his news from Indonesian-language media.

“Usually, yeah, from like a magazine, like you know, Indonesian community magazine.”

Asian Americans traditionally vote more for Democrats⁶ than Republicans. But voter Allison Watanabe refuses to support someone just because the candidate is Asian.

“Not if they did not share my values.”

Morris Levy⁷ teaches political science at the University of Southern California. He says many Asian Americans do not identify with any party.

“So even among voters who were voting Democrat⁴ in the last few elections, many are reluctant to say ‘I identify myself as a Democrat.’”

The two main parties are seeking to capture the support of Asian Americans. Shawn Steel is with the Republican National Committee.

“The most successful group of immigrants to have ever assimilated in America, the quickest and the most effective. It’s perfect material for the changing Republican Party, not merely to have them vote but to have them lead the Republican Party.”

His wife, Michelle, is a candidate in Orange County, California. She is one of several Republican Asian Americans who are candidates in state and local election races.

“The Republican National Committee is watching Orange County because four Asian American women are running. And that’s going to change actually the face of the Republican Party.”

Morris Levy says the number of undecided voters will likely grow.

“You still have large-scale immigration, so as you continue to kind of fuel this pool of new potential voters and new residents who are just beginning to navigate⁸ the U.S. political system, you are likely, if anything, to increase the percentage that’s uncommitted in the short run.”

He says capturing their vote means both parties need to reach out to the different Asian communities, and have Asian American candidates on the ballot⁹.

Words in this Story 

influence – n. an effect on someone or something; v. to have an effect on someone or something; to cause change

candidates – n. people who seek or are nominated for an office or an honor

campaign – n. a competition by opposing political candidates seeking support from voters

season – n. a period during the year when something usually happens

1 monolithic   

adj.似独块巨石的；整体的

参考例句：

• Don't think this gang is monolithic.不要以为这帮人是铁板一块。
• Mathematics is not a single monolithic structure of absolute truth.数学并不是绝对真理的单一整体结构。

2 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

3 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

4 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。

5 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 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》

7 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

8 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

9 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。