VOA标准英语2012--Santorum Gains Ground in Republican Contest

Santorum Gains Ground in Republican Contest

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has seen a surge in the polls ahead of January 3 caucuses¹ in Iowa. Here's more about the former senator and socially conservative candidate.

Michele Bachmann. Rick Perry. Newt Gingrich. They have all been key contenders in the crowded race for the Republican presidential nomination².

Now another contender is riding a wave of popularity.

"He's Rick Santorum. A loving husband, a devoted³ father, homeschooler and a man of deep faith."

That was Rick Santorum's campaign ad on YouTube. Santorum, a 53-year-old former senator from Pennsylvania, has seen a surge in the polls. He served on Capitol Hill for 16 years until he lost his Senate seat in 2006.

A Roman Catholic, Santorum is the father of seven children.

"I call this our Faith, Family and Freedom tour," said Santorum. "A few weeks ago I said we should actually change this sign, to faith plus family equals freedom."

Santorum opposes abortion⁴ and the expansion of rights for homosexuals. His social conservativism appeals to many evangelical Christian⁵ voters.

James Lindsay focuses on domestic politics at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.

"And obviously, one of the big constituencies in the state of Iowa are social conservatives, evangelicals, many of whom put a great importance, for example, on U.S. relations with Israel," said Lindsay.

That is a subject Santorum addressed in a debate last month.

"Israelis have the right to determine what happens in their land," he said. "And all of Israel, including the quote, you know, West Bank, is Israeli land."

Santorum's view runs counter to U.S. policy. Washington has repeatedly pressed Israel to stop building settlements in the West Bank.

Santorum also says he would bomb nuclear sites in Iran, unless those sites were opened to international inspectors⁶.

Despite Santorum's recent popularity, some political anaylsts say it is not clear how much staying power his campaign has.

Steffen Schmidt is a political scientist at Iowa State University.

"I think Rick Santorum has suddenly been put back on oxygen and has been revived here, coming toward the end, but I'm not sure that Rick Santorum has many other places where he can campaign," said Schmidt. "He doesn't have a lot of money, and so I expect him not to be going much further."

But Santorum has gained ground on the Republican frontrunners.

And in past campaigns, success in Iowa has helped candidates raise additional money going into the primaries.

1 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

4 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

5 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》