VOA双语新闻 - 共和党在美国国会或遭遇重大挫折

　　Republicans face the prospect 1 of significant losses in the House of Representatives during next month U.S. election. Most analysts 2 see Republicans losing at least 20 House seats, but some predictions put potential losses at 30 or more in the 435-seat House. While Americans have generally negative views of Congress, Democrats 4 have taken advantage of a general trend of dissatisfaction.

共和党在下月举行的大选中将在众议院面临重大损失，大多数分析家认为，共和党可能会失去至少20个众议院席位，但还有一些预测认为共和党在众议院总共435个席位中可能会失去30席或30席以上。尽管美国人对美国国会的看法大体上是消极的，但民主党利用了民众的普遍不满趋势。

Although a number of issues will be on the minds of Americans when they go to the polls on November 4, the most dominant 5 is the global financial crisis which most analysts agree is pushing voters toward making major changes in Washington, and Republican candidates are vulnerable across the country.

虽然当美国选民于11月4日走进投票站时心目中有很多问题，但是他们最关心的是全球的金融危机。多数分析家认为，这一关切将推动选民要求华盛顿进行重大变革，从而使全国各地的共和党候选人普遍处于脆弱地位。

Currently, Democrats hold a 235 to 199 advantage in the 435-member House, with one seat vacant. Though Republican leaders have tried to maintain an optimistic public face, there were some early negative signs in 2008.

目前，民主党在众议院的435个席位中占有235席对199席的优势，其中一个席位空缺。虽然共和党领导人曾试图保持一种乐观的公众形像，但在2008年出现了一些早期的消极迹象。

Early in the year, three key state districts held by Republicans for decades shifted to Democrats in special elections seen as important early indicators 6.

今年年初，共和党主导了几十年的三个关键州的选区在特别选举中转向民主党，这被视为重要的早期征兆。

Among them was the seat held by former Republican House speaker Dennis Hastert, where a Democratic candidate benefited from fundraising and an endorsement 7 by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. In the southern states of Louisiana and Mississippi, two key seats also fell to Democrats.

At the same time, since the 2006 mid-term election, Republicans leaving Congress, either retiring or running for higher office, outnumber Democratic departures by a margin 8 of 29 to six.

与此同时，自2006年中期选举以来，共和党人因为退休或另有高就而离开国会的比例和民主党相比为29比6。

Debates in House races reflect concerns about the economy and the recent government rescue plan for the financial markets.

众议院举行的竞选辩论反映出对经济和政府最近救援金融市场计划的关切。

Democrats and Republicans contrast what they would do in Washington if elected, but also reflect a lot of common ground on the financial mess.

民主党或共和党当选后会在华盛顿采取截然不同的行动，但是他们对金融乱局的问题有很多共同点。

In Ohio's 15th district, which narrowly went Republican in 2006, Democrat 3 Mary Jo Kilroy faces Republican Steve Stivers.

在2006年以微弱优势倒向共和党的俄亥俄州第十五选区，民主党候选人玛丽.乔.基尔罗伊在选举中和共和党候选人史蒂夫.斯蒂夫斯对阵。

"We need to move in quickly to eliminate and put more oversight 9 and more regulation so the risky 10 behaviors on Wall Street and [in] the banking 11 industry that brought us to this crisis, come to an end," says Kilroy.

基尔罗伊说：“我们必须迅速采取行动，对华尔街和华尔街的银行业进行更多的监督和调控，彻底根除他们所采取的导致我们陷入这场危机的冒险做法。”

"We need to make sure that what they are going to do is going to work," Stivers says. "We need to make sure that it is going to be a smart investment and that the taxpayers 12 aren't going to be left holding the bag for Wall Street."

斯蒂夫斯说：“我们必须确保他们的措施有成效。我们必须确保这将是一个明智的投资，不会让纳税人被华尔街套住成为替罪羊。”

In Colorado, where opinion polls show Barack Obama has opened a significant lead over John McCain, the House contest between Republican House incumbent 13 Marlyn Musgrave and Democrat Betsey Markey featured this exchange about energy policy.

在科罗拉多州的民意调查显示，奥巴马以较大优势领先于麦凯恩。该州众议员的竞争在现任众议员共和党的马斯格雷夫和民主党的马尔凯之间展开。他们最近对能源政策针锋相对地交换看法。

"My opponent has voted against every piece of renewable energy legislation that has come before the Congress in the past four years," says Markey.

马尔凯说：“我的对手在过去四年里对提交到美国国会的每一个再生能源的提案都投了反对票。”

"I will always vote against a bill if it has pork [extraneous spending] in it, and a tax increase and those are the reasons for my no votes on those bills," Musgrave says.

马斯格雷夫：“我将继续投票反对一项需要巨额花费，同时还需要增加税收的法案。这就是我没有投赞成票给这些法案的理由。”

In addition to the economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have also worked against Republicans, who are also weighed down by President Bush's poor public approval ratings.

除了经济之外，伊拉克战争和阿富汗战争也对共和党不利。同时共和党还受到现任总统布什低迷的民众支持率的拖累。

Democrats are out-spending Republicans in House races by almost four to one, with Republican congressional campaign managers forced to make tough choices on where to direct funds.

An internal Republican party document recently reported by U.S. News & World Report, and the multimedia 14 political news organization Politico, described 58 Republican House seats as being at some level of risk, with as many as 34 seats in serious danger of shifting to Democrats.

“美国新闻与世界报导”杂志和多媒体的政治新闻组织“政治新闻报导”最近披露了一份共和党的内部文件，表明共和党在众议院里有58个席位面临一定程度的风险，其中34个席位有转向民主党的严重危险。

Among interesting shifts, Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann's chances for re-election were damaged by controversy 15 that followed her call for investigations 16 of members of Congress that she suggested had anti-American views.

Democrats are not without their problems. In Florida, a Democrat Tim Mahoney's chances of winning a key Republican seat are threatened by a personal scandal, while Democrats faced tough races in some key states, such as Pennsylvania.

而民主党也非高枕无忧。在佛罗里达州，民主党候选人马奥尼从共和党手中赢得关键席位的可能性受到他个人丑闻的威胁，而民主党人在一些关键州，如宾夕法尼亚州等，也面临著艰难的选战。

While Democrats could sharply increase their majority in the House, the picture in the 100 member Senate is less hopeful, where Republicans may still maintain enough seats to block legislation.

虽然民主党可能会大幅增加他们在众议院的多数席位，但是在由100名参议员组成的参议院中，民主党的希望不大，共和党仍可能保持足够的席位来阻挠立法。