It makes for an efficient process, which is much appreciated by the members, who are juggling twelve- or thirteen-hour schedules and want to get back to their offices to meet constituents or returnphone calls, to a nearby hotel to cultivate donors, or to the television studio for a live interview. If you stick around, though, you may see one lone senator standing at his desk after the others have left, seeking recognition to deliver a statement on the floor. It may be an explanation of a bill he’s introducing, or it may be a broader commentary on some unmet national challenge. The speaker’s voice may flare with passion; his arguments—about cuts to programs for the poor, or obstructionism on judicial appointments, or the need for energy independence—may be soundly constructed. But the speaker will be addressing a near-empty chamber: just the presiding officer, a few staffers, the Senate reporter, and C-SPAN’s unblinking eye. The speaker will finish. A blue-uniformed page will silently gather the statement for the official record. Another senator may enter as the first one departs, and she will stand at her desk, seek recognition, and deliver her statement, repeating the ritual.
因此议会的工作总能展现出异常高的效率。而许多议员也欣然于此:谁不想糊弄完12或13个小时的议程,早点回去会见委托人或回他们的电话?谁不想早点回去到附近的某家饭店伺候捐款人?谁不想早点回去参加直播访谈?但如果你执意纠缠,那你将无疑成为一个孤独的在众人离去后还四下寻找落在地板上的赞同票的傻瓜。或者你的提案能得到一个解释,或者它回沦为某个闻所未闻的国家危机的注脚,总之就是这样。你可能声若洪钟,你的论点,诸如贫困救济的削减,司法程序遭到蓄意阻挠,能源自主必须建立之类可能确实中听…但你面前的无过于一间几近空荡的大厅,主持人和几个文员,参议院记者和C-SPAN频道摄象机永远不会眨一下的镜头。好了,你讲完了。一名身着兰色制服的文员将会收起你的提案留做官方存档。这时另一名参议员在已经有人起身离去时匆匆来迟,然后站在桌前,寻求一番支持,然后发表她的提案,继续重复刚才的仪式…
In the world’s greatest deliberative body, no one is listening.
在这个世界上最大的政治协商会议上,没有人在听讲。
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I REMEMBER January 4, 2005—the day that I and a third of the Senate were sworn in as members of the 109th Congress—as a beautiful blur. The sun was bright, the air unseasonably warm. From Illinois, Hawaii, London, and Kenya, my family and friends crowded into the Senate visitors’ gallery to cheer as my new colleagues and I stood beside the marble dais and raised our right hands to take the oath of office. In the Old Senate Chamber, I joined my wife, Michelle, and our two daughters for a reenactment of the ceremony and picture-taking with Vice President Cheney (true to form, then six-year-old Malia demurely shook the vice president’s hand, while then three-year-old Sasha decided instead to slap palms with the man before twirling around to wave for the cameras). Afterward, I watched the girls skip down the east Capitol steps, their pink and red dresses lifting gently in the air, the Supreme Court’s white columns a majestic backdrop for their games. Michelle and I took their hands, and together the four of us walked to the Library of Congress, where we met a few hundred well-wishers who had traveled in for the day, and spent the next several hours in a steady stream of handshakes, hugs, photographs, and autographs.
我还记得05年1月4日——那天我和三分之一的参议员宣誓就任第109届参议院参议员——哦,多么美好:阳关明媚,微风和煦,丝毫没有1月的应有的那般凛冽。从伊利诺斯、夏维夷、伦敦甚至是肯尼亚赶来的亲友簇拥在参议院的会客厅里向在大理石讲台旁高举右手宣誓就任的我道贺。在老参议院大厅,我和妻子、Michelle和两个女儿再重新粉墨——和副总统切尼合影(事实上,六岁的Malia庄严的和副总统握手,而三岁的Sasha则选择去在相机前和他击掌)。一切结束之后,我看着两个女儿从国会东台阶上一级一级的向下蹦。他们粉红色和红色的裙子轻轻得被微风拂动,最高法院的白色圆柱静静得为她们构筑着一幅完美的背景。我着实不想打扰她们但我和Michelle还是要牵着她们,四个人一起走向国会图书馆。在那里有几百名当天赶
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