经济学人翻译练习——肯•帕克斯顿的再次竞选是对德克萨斯共和党价值观的考验
经济学人翻译练习
写在前面
个人读了十几期经济学人，不得不说。。。经济学人作为世界顶尖的期刊，其所持观点依旧做不到公正客观，不偏不倚，和VOA，TED一样不过也是西方发声的喉咙罢了，实在令人失望，仔细想想，却又非常正常。只指出最明显的一点就是，文章中对于中国永远是阴谋论和贬斥，充斥着或明或暗的讥讽，而对于美国等西方国家，却是一种，即使有问题，那也是小问题，随时可以纠正，并且前景一片光明的基调，实在是令人。。。尴尬。因此写在前面，提醒大家，在阅读文章的时候要保持清醒，有自己辩证的思考。
Ken Paxton’s bid for re-election is a test of Texas Republicans’ values
And a test for Texas Democrats’ prospects too
英文原文： IN 2013 A little-known state senator passed through the security check at a courthouse in Collin County, Texas, and noticed a few pens that had been left behind. He pocketed one of them, a $1,000 Montblanc. Later, the pen’s rightful owner asked officials to review video footage, which revealed they had been grabbed by Ken Paxton, the state senator who would soon be elected Texas’s attorney-general. After a sheriff’s deputy called Mr Paxton, he returned the Montblanc and said it was a mistake.
中文翻译： 2013年一位不出名的国会议员在经过德克萨斯州克林县一家法院的安检口时，注意到有几支笔放在那里。他拿起其中一只笔装入口袋，那是一只价值1000美元的万宝龙。后来，这支笔的合法拥有者要求法院工作人员调录像，而录像表明，是Ken Paxton，那个将很快当选为德克萨斯州的总检察长的人，拿了这支笔。在一名副警长打电话给帕克斯顿先生后，他归还了万宝龙，并声称这是一个误会。
英文原文： The incident was minor enough not to attract much attention, but Mr Paxton has since become a prominent symbol of red-state resistance to Democratic policies. He has sued the federal government 25 times since President Joe Biden was inaugurated in January 2021, on issues such as immigration enforcement, covid-19 restrictions, guns, energy policy and the minimum wage. His pugnaciousness, and devotion to Donald Trump, have endeared him to the Republican base.
中文翻译： 这是一个微不足道的事情，但此后，帕克斯顿已成为红州抵制民主党政策的一个重要标志。他在乔治·拜登总统于2021年1月举行就任典礼知州，就例如强制移民，新冠肺炎限制条令，枪械，能源政策和最低工资等问题，起诉了联邦政府25次。他的好斗和对唐纳德·特朗普的忠诚，让他赢得了共和党选民的喜爱。
英文原文： On May 24th Mr Paxton will be in a Republican primary run-off for attorney-general against George P. Bush, Texas’s land commissioner and a nephew of George W. Bush, a former governor and president. Both candidates competed for Mr Trump’s endorsement, which is high-octane fuel in Texan Republican primary-voter circles. Although his father, Jeb Bush, was insulted by Mr Trump during the Republican presidential primary in 2016, on the campaign trail George P. Bush handed out beer koozies with a quote from Mr Trump: “This is the only Bush that likes me…I like him.” In the end, Mr Paxton won the endorsement, probably thanks to his willingness to use his office to challenge the 2020 election results of four swing states in court on Mr Trump’s behalf.
中文翻译： 在5月24日，帕克斯顿先生将在共和党初选中对抗德克萨斯州的地产委员，前州长兼总统乔治·w·布什的侄子，乔治·p·布什。两位候选人都在争夺特朗普的支持，特朗普的支持在德克萨斯州共和党初选圈子里是非常重要的因素。尽管他的父亲杰布·布什在2016年的共和党总统初选中受到了特朗普的侮辱，但在竞选活动中，乔治·p·布什引用了特朗普的话：“这是唯一一个喜欢我的布什…我喜欢他”.最后，帕克斯顿先生赢得了特朗普的支持，这大概是因为他愿意用自己的团队，代表特朗普在法庭上质疑四个摇摆州于2020年的选举结果。
英文原文： Will Republican voters care whether the supposed protector of laws follows them himself? Mr Paxton’s resilience so far suggests they won’t. In 2014 the Texas State Securities Board fined Mr Paxton $1,000 for violating securities laws in soliciting investments three times without registering as an investment adviser. Voters shrugged and elected him as attorney-general anyway. A few months after assuming office in 2015, he was indicted on three securities-fraud charges, including allegedly encouraging people to invest in a technology startup without revealing he was being compensated. (Mr Paxton denies wrongdoing.) The federal charges were dismissed by a judge, and the state’s case has yet to proceed due to wrangling over lawyers’ fees and jurisdiction. Even some efforts to help protect Mr Paxton have raised eyebrows. Soon after his wife, Angela, became a state senator in 2019, she proposed a bill to modify Texas’s securities laws so that it would no longer be a felony for individuals to act as investment advisers without registering (one of Mr Paxton’s alleged offences) and granting greater control to the attorney-general’s office to oversee consumer fraud.
中文翻译： 共和党选民会关心这个所谓的法律保护者是否会遵循他们的意愿吗？帕克斯顿先生迄今为止展现出的韧性表明他们并不关心。2014年，德州证券委员会对帕克斯顿罚款1000美元，原因是他三次未注册成为投资顾问就招揽投资，违反了证券法。选民们耸了耸肩，还是选举他为司法部长。（what fuck???）2015年上任几个月后，他被指控三项证券欺诈罪，其中包括涉嫌鼓励人们在不透露自己受贿的情况下投资一家科技初创公司。（帕克斯顿先生否认自己有不当行为）一名法官驳回了对联邦政府的指控，而由于关于律师费和司法管辖权的争论，该州的案件尚未继续审理。甚至一些保护帕克斯顿的举措也引起了惊讶。很快他的妻子Angela于2019年成为了国会议员，她提议修改德克萨斯州的证券法，从而使得个人不注册就担任投资顾问就不再是重罪（这是帕克斯顿先生从事的犯罪活动之一）并给予司法部长办公室更大的控制权来监督消费者欺诈行为。
英文原文： Bigger allegations followed. In September 2020, eight of Mr Paxton’s deputies reported him to the FBI, accusing him of “criminal bribery, tampering with government records, harassment, obstruction of justice and abuse of office”. The deputies, several of whom filed a lawsuit under the Whistleblower Act, said the attorney-general used his office to benefit a campaign donor, Nate Paul, who had allegedly hired a woman with whom Mr Paxton had an extramarital affair. According to their complaint, Mr Paxton intervened improperly in a federal investigation into Mr Paul (who has also denied any wrongdoing).
中文翻译： 更严重的指控还在后头。2020年9月，帕克斯顿先生的8位副手向FBI举报，指控他刑事贿赂、篡改政府记录、骚扰、妨碍司法公正和滥用职权等多项罪名。其中几名副手根据《告密者法案》提起了诉讼，声称司法部长利用他的职能帮助竞选捐赠者内特·保罗，据称保罗涉嫌雇佣了一名与帕克斯顿有婚外情的女性。根据他们的指控，帕克斯顿在对保罗的联邦调查中进行不正当干预（保罗也否认有任何不当行为）。
英文原文： Mr Paxton has rejected the whistleblowers’ claims, accused them of being “rogue employees” and has even argued that the Whistleblower Act should not apply to him as attorney-general. His own office released a 374-page report in an attempt to clear him. But a federal investigation is reported to be ongoing.
中文翻译： 帕克斯顿否认了举报人的指控，控告他们是“流氓雇员”，甚至辩称，他作为司法部长《举报人法案》对他不能生效。他的团队发表了一份374页的报告以试图来洗清他。但是据说联邦调查仍然在继续。
英文原文： Mr Paxton’s resilience tells a broader story about politics in Texas today. A recent poll found that only 11% of Republicans had an unfavourable view of him, and 75% a favourable one. A different poll gives him a 42-point leadx over Mr Bush. This is due not least to Mr Trump’s continued support.
Although Texas helped to send its former governor to the White House, the run-off election for attorney-general is likely to result in “the imminent end of the Bush dynasty”, argues Mark Jones, a professor at Rice University. The Bushes are considered too establishment these days.
中文翻译： 帕克斯顿先生能够快速恢复参加竞选，使得我们知道，如今德克萨斯州的政治并不清明。最近的一次民意调查发现只有11%的共和党人不认同他并且他有着75%的支持率。另一项民意调查显示，他领先布什42个百分点。这主要是由于特朗普的持续支持。莱斯大学的教授马克·琼斯认为，尽管德克萨斯州帮助其前州长入主白宫，但司法部长的决选可能会导致“布什王朝的终结”。如今，布什家族被认为权势太重了。
英文原文： Mr Trump has also helped Mr Paxton in a less direct way. By shaking trust in institutions, such as the media and law enforcement, Mr Trump has conditioned voters not to believe what they hear. It’s all “fake news”, as Mr Paxton is happy to claim. This has helped him sail through his scandals. He can accuse whistleblowers of being rogue, partisan employees, without primary voters questioning whether people who had worked in his office for years would really turn on him for political reasons. Those who reported him were his deputies and allies, not his enemies.
中文翻译： 特朗普也用了一些间接的手段帮助帕克斯顿。通过动摇民众对媒体和执法部门等机构的信任，特朗普设法使选民不要相信他们听到的。帕克斯顿很高兴来声明：“这都是假新闻”。这些手段确实帮助帕克斯顿度过了难关。他可以指责告密者是流氓、党派雇员，而无需会让初选选民质疑，在他办公室工作多年的人是否真的会出于政治原因而攻击他。那些举报他的人是他的副手和盟友，而不是他的敌人。
Lone Star litmus
英文原文： Democrats have not won a statewide office in Texas since 1994. The election in November for attorney-general should, in theory, be their best shot. Everything will hinge on whether a Democratic candidate can woox independents and Republicans who dislike Mr Trump and acolytes like Mr Paxton. The party would have to offer a moderate candidate to fit Texan tastes. Joe Jaworski, an ex-mayor of Galveston and grandson of the former Watergate special prosecutor Leon Jaworski, would be the most electable Democrat statewide, although among Democratic primary voters he is currently polling behind the progressive candidate, Rochelle Garza. Some Democrats are hoping that Mr Paxton may be indicted after the primary but before the general election, giving them an edge.
中文翻译： 自1994年以来，民主党人还没有在德克萨斯州赢得过州级的职位。理论上讲，11月的司法部长选举应该是他们的最佳选择。一切都取决于民主党候选人能否吸引不喜欢特朗普和帕克斯顿等人的独立人士和共和党人。民主党将会推出一个符合德克萨斯州人品味的合适候选人。加尔维斯顿市前市长、前水门事件特别检察官利昂·贾沃斯基的孙子乔·贾沃斯基将是全州最容易当选的民主党人，尽管在民主党初选选民中，他的民调还排在进步派候选人罗谢尔·加尔萨之后。民主党人希望帕克斯顿在初选后，大选前被起诉，这将给他们优势。
英文原文： Whatever happens, the race for attorney-general will not just be a test of Republican primary voters’ values but of Democrats’ priorities and standing too. If they cannot win against Mr Paxton, Democrats’ dreams of soon turning Texas blue seem as improbable as finding an orphaned $1,000 pen.
中文翻译： 无论发生什么，这场关于总检察长的竞选不仅仅是对于共和党初选选民价值观的考研，也是对民主党的优先事项和地位的考验。如果不能击败帕克斯顿，那么民主党人将德克萨斯州变蓝的梦想就和找到一只1000$的孤儿一样遥遥无期。
简单感想
首先说明以特朗普为首的共和党人对于目前美国的政坛依旧有着相当的影响力，至少在德克萨斯州是这样，能够把一个劣迹斑斑的，多次违反法律的人捧成法律的捍卫者，这确实相当讽刺。。。
关于这个故事，我对于以下几点存在质疑：
1.帕克斯顿是否真的如全文描述的那样劣迹斑斑？
2.经济学人一般又是谁的口舌？
3.为啥这个故事里的政治精英全是官N代？
4.通过动摇民众对于媒体和政府机构的信任，实现忽悠选民，真的能做到吗？
重要词汇
security check 安检处
courthouse 法院
sheriff’s deputy 副警长
attorney-general 总检察长，司法部长
land commissioner 地产委员
soliciting investments 招揽投资
felony 重罪
criminal bribery 刑事贿赂
run-off election 决选
Whistleblower Act 告密者法案
partisan employees 党派雇员