評論
打印
Congressional elections
國會選舉
Immovable incumbents
在職者連任
The Republican primaries have produced fewer upsets than expected
共和黨競選并沒有想象中那么讓人失望
JUSTIN AMASH, a congressman, represents one of the most conservative parts of Michigan. Pat Roberts (pictured), a member of the Senate, represents one of America’s most conservative states. After hard-fought campaigns both men won their Republican Party primaries on August 5th and now look likely to retain their seats. The similarities end there.
賈斯汀·阿瑪施，一位代表密歇根最保守勢力的國會議員；派特·羅伯特，一位代表美國最保守州的上議院成員。他們二人都在8月5日的激烈選舉之后贏得了共和黨的競選，保住了自己的位置。但他們二人的相同點也僅止于此了。
Mr Amash, who is 34, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2010, riding the Tea Party wave that wiped out both Democrats and old-school Republicans. A staunch libertarian, he has alienated some in Congress with his stubbornness, which has earned him the nickname “Dr No”. He tried to oust John Boehner as Speaker and was duly punished, losing his seat on the budget committee. Sensing an opportunity, business-minded Republicans backed Mr Amash’s challenger in the primary, Brian Ellis. But Mr Amash whipped him, winning by 15 points.
34歲的阿瑪施，于2010年首次入選美國眾議院，他借著茶黨的威力，洗清了民主黨人和老派的共和黨人。他是一位堅定的自由主義者，由于固執，他已在國會中與不少人矛盾疏遠了，因此也獲得了“不先生”這一雅號。他試圖取代約翰·博納成為議長，卻因此丟掉了自己的職位，并在財政預算委員會得到了應有的懲罰。似乎感覺到這是個契機，具有商業頭腦的共和黨人們轉而支持阿瑪施的對手，布萊恩·埃利斯。然而最后，阿瑪施還是以15個百分點的優勢壓倒埃利斯，獲得了勝利。
Pro-business Republicans have little beef with Mr Roberts, who is 78, but conservative insurgents were out for his blood. Having served 33 years in Congress (17 in the Senate), Mr Roberts is the epitome of an establishment Republican. The main charge against him was that he had become too comfortable in Washington. He admitted frankly that he owned no home in Kansas and visited the state “every time I get an opponent”. His opponent this time, Milton Wolf, a doctor, was supported by national and local Tea Party groups, but it was not enough in the end. Mr Roberts won by seven points.
親商的共和黨人們與羅伯特幾乎沒有矛盾，但是保守黨的叛亂者們卻反對他。羅伯特已經在國會任命了33年，其中17年在上議院，他已經成為了共和黨發展的縮影。對他的主要指控在于他在華盛頓過得過于舒服。他坦率地承認他在堪薩斯毫無歸屬感，每回去一次，都會多一個新的反對者。這一次他的反對者是由國家和地方茶黨組織支持的彌爾頓·沃夫醫生，但這些人的勢力還是有限。羅伯特最終以7%的優勢獲勝。
Drawing conclusions about the Republican Party from these results is difficult. For starters, both incumbents faced underwhelming challengers. Mr Ellis’s campaign was so vicious that Mr Amash refused to take his congratulatory phone call. Dr Wolf, a second cousin of Barack Obama, ran a cleaner campaign and did better than expected. But he was tripped up when it was discovered that he had posted X-rays of his patients on Facebook along with crude jokes about them.
從以上這些情況想要總結出共和黨的情況可是件很難的事，無論對于想要參加競選的人還是在位者來說，這都是極大的挑戰。埃利斯的競選過程太卑鄙，以至于阿瑪施拒絕回應他打來的祝賀電話。對于沃夫醫生（他是奧巴馬的二堂弟）來說，他的競選過程相對而言比想象得更加光明正大一些。只可惜，他跪在了被人發現在FACEBOOK上用粗魯的笑話公開病人的X光情況。
The Republican primaries in Kansas and Michigan, and others elsewhere this year, seem to say more about the power of incumbency than anything else. With just a few notable exceptions—such as Eric Cantor, the former House majority leader, who lost in June—those already in office have faced down challenges from candidates of all stripes. Indeed, Mr Roberts’s victory makes it probable that for the first time since 2008 no incumbent Republican senator will lose a primary.
共和黨在堪薩斯與密歇根的選舉以及今年在其他地方的一些選舉，似乎在位者職務上的權力被更多地提及到。正如一些顯著的案例，比如埃里克·康托爾，上一任議會多數派領袖，即在6月份落馬，這些正坐在辦公室里的在職者同樣都面臨著來自各色競選者的壓力。無疑，羅伯特的勝出說明在位者不能連任也是可能的，因為這是繼2008年以來在共和黨上議院第一次出現這樣的情況。
But the campaigns have raised the question of what makes a politician truly conservative, a mantle grasped by nearly all of the Republican candidates. For Mr Amash it is a devotion to liberty that does not always suit Republican priorities. For Mr Roberts it seems less about ideology and more about partisan loyalty. Republican leaders in Congress have had a difficult time accommodating these competing visions. Judging by the primaries, their job will not get any easier.
但是這些競選活動也使到底是什么使得一個政客變得保守成為一個問題，這幾乎是所有共和黨候選人都應該掌握的職責。對于阿瑪施來說，這是一種追求自由的奮斗，而非去迎合共和黨選舉。對于羅伯特來說，這無關于理論空談，而更是一種黨派忠誠度。共和黨在國會里的領導人一直在艱難地適應這種相互競爭的環境，而從競選過程來看，他們未來的工作只可能變得更難。譯者：佳玥
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