2006年VOA标准英语-African Americans and Hispanics Look to Upcomin

By Bill Rodgers
Washington, DC
12 October 2006
 
watch US Minorities Politics

 
Young immigrants and minorities
The U.S. midterm elections on November 7 could be significant for the two largest minority groups in the United States -- African Americans and Latinos.  Hispanics could be galvanized by the immigration issue to turn out and vote in larger numbers than ever before and thereby¹ swing some key races.  In the case of African Americans, six black candidates are running for either governor or senator this year, a record number seeking higher statewide office.  VOA's Bill Rodgers has this overview² of how these two minority groups may affect the upcoming elections.

Michael Steele -- the Lieutenant³ Governor of Maryland -- is running for Senator.  A Republican, he is one of six African American candidates of both parties running for higher office in the United States this election year -- a record.

 
David Bositis
David Bositis, who specializes in black electoral politics at the Joint⁴ Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, says it is part of a trend. "If you combine the number of gubernatorial and senatorial candidates, 2006 is the highest ever," says Bositis. "It is part of a trend.  Remember, African Americans were effectively kept from most offices for many years.  But there are now more and more African Americans who have the requisite⁵ personal characteristics and political experience that permits them to run for these higher-level offices."

The candidates range from Congressman⁶ Harold Ford⁷, Jr., a Democrat⁸ running for Senate in the southern state of Tennessee, to conservative Republican Ken⁹ Blackwell hoping to win the governorship in Ohio. 

Congressman Elijah Cummings, who is one of 40 black members of the House of Representatives, is pleased by the large number of African American candidates from both parties. 

Cummings believes this is partly due to the impact of Barack Obama, the charismatic Democratic Senator from Illinois, who was elected in 2004 and is now the Senate's only black member. "I think that a lot of young people saw Barack Obama, what appeared to be almost overnight, become like a rock star," says Cummings. "They saw this bright, sharp Harvard-educated young man, and a lot of them began to look at themselves and say, 'I can do that too'."

African Americans tend to vote overwhelmingly for Democrats¹⁰ and this may hinder the chances of the three black Republicans running for higher office. 

Republican Steele in Maryland hopes to overcome this -- partly by not emphasizing his party affiliation¹¹, a tactic¹² that has drawn¹³ questions. "Everyone, I think, knows I'm a Republican," he says, "and quite frankly¹⁴ I've not seen a Democrat at the start say, 'Hi, I'm a Democrat', so why do I have to live by a separate standard?"

It was only in 1990 that Douglas Wilder in Virginia became the first black governor to be elected in any state in more than 100 years. This year Democrat Deval Patrick of Massachusetts has a very good chance of becoming the country's second black elected governor.

For Hispanics, voter turnout is the focus in this election, instead of groundbreaking candidates.  Latinos traditionally do not turn out in large numbers to vote. 

But this year may be different; judging by the mass rallies held earlier this year to demand immigration reform and protest measures to stiffen¹⁵ penalties on illegal immigrants.  

 
Clarissa Martinez
Advocacy groups such as the National Council of La Raza are working to register more Latino voters.  La Raza's Clarissa Martinez says Latinos will judge candidates on their position on immigration.  "The anti-immigration climate in the country has been largely identified with the Republican party and the members that are most definitely at its forefront happen to be Republican," she says.  "But I think that this has been a 'black eye' for Republican Party.  I think that people are trying to see who really leads the Republican Party - is it the anti-immigrant wing or is it the wing that believes that we are a nation of immigrants and that we need to figure out how to solve this problem?"

 
Stuart Rothenberg (file photo)
Political analyst¹⁶ Stuart Rothenberg says the immigration issue also could galvanize Republican voters. "There's some anger, particularly on the part of conservatives about illegal immigrants in this country and they could turn out," says Rothenberg. "And even moderate and independent voters feel that anger, and resent the number of illegal immigrants here and the benefits they get by living here.  So that's a potential issue actually for Republicans that's under the surface."

How Americans feel about issues such as immigration -- and the statewide candidacies of African Americans -- will be decided¹⁷ in November when voters go to the polls.
 
 

1 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

2 overview   

n.概观，概述

参考例句：

• The opening chapter gives a brief historical overview of transport.第一章是运输史的简要回顾。
• The seminar aims to provide an overview on new media publishing.研讨会旨在综览新兴的媒体出版。

3 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 requisite   

adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品

参考例句：

• He hasn't got the requisite qualifications for the job.他不具备这工作所需的资格。
• Food and air are requisite for life.食物和空气是生命的必需品。

6 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。

7 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

8 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。

9 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

10 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》

11 affiliation   

n.联系，联合

参考例句：

• There is no affiliation between our organization and theirs,even though our names are similar.尽管两个组织的名称相似，但我们之间并没有关系。
• The kidnappers had no affiliation with any militant group.这些绑架者与任何军事组织都没有紧密联系。

12 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

13 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

14 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。

15 stiffen   

v.(使)硬，(使)变挺，(使)变僵硬

参考例句：

• The blood supply to the skin is reduced when muscles stiffen.当肌肉变得僵硬时，皮肤的供血量就减少了。
• I was breathing hard,and my legs were beginning to stiffen.这时我却气吁喘喘地开始感到脚有点僵硬。

16 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

17 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。