随着内华达州共和党众议员马克·阿莫迪退休，该党已团结起来支持大卫·弗利波作为他的继任者。然而，这位即将卸任的现任议员表示，他“绝对不会”支持共和党提名人。
With Republican Rep. Mark Amodei retiring in Nevada, his party has rallied behind David Flippo as his successor. The outgoing incumbent, however, has said he will “absolutely not” support the GOP nominee.
阿莫迪本周在提及弗利波时表示：“这家伙是个骗子。我不想在离开时，去拥抱一个我认为是个骗子的人。”
“The guy is a fraud,” Amodei said this week, referring to Flippo. “I’m not having my last action walking out the door to hug a guy who I think is a fraud.”
这些批评是在弗利波被指多次夸大其军事服役记录的新指控浮出水面后引发的。《华盛顿邮报》报道：内华达州共和党国会候选人大卫·弗利波近年来多次夸大其军事记录，虚假声称他在二十年的空军生涯中因“英勇表现”获得过铜星勋章。
The criticisms came to mind after new allegations emerged of Flippo having repeatedly exaggerated his military service record. The Washington Post reported:
弗利波于2004年因服役获得铜星勋章，但并非带有英勇标志的铜星勋章，后者是一种更为罕见的荣誉，旨在表彰在与敌人直接交火中表现出的英勇行为。军事奖项专家称，此类夸大行为等同于撒谎。弗利波竞选团队承认存在不实陈述，但将其淡化为由工作人员造成的“诚实错误”。
David Flippo, a Republican congressional candidate in Nevada, inflated his military record multiple times in recent years by falsely claiming he received a Bronze Star “for valor” during his two-decade Air Force career. Flippo received a Bronze Star in 2004 for his service, but not the Bronze Star with valor, a much rarer distinction that recognizes heroism in direct combat with an enemy. Experts on military awards say such exaggerations are tantamount to lying. The Flippo campaign acknowledged the misrepresentations but downplayed them as “honest mistakes” by staff members.
在这类故事中，错误的重复出现尤为突出。我们谈论的不仅仅是一个默默无闻的实习生发布的随机社交媒体帖子。相反，弗利波及其将军事服役作为竞选核心的政治团队，在电视广告和多次筹款呼吁中都包含了同样的夸大内容。
Flippo received a Bronze Star in 2004 for his service, but not the Bronze Star with valor, a much rarer distinction that recognizes heroism in direct combat with an enemy. Experts on military awards say such exaggerations are tantamount to lying. The Flippo campaign acknowledged the misrepresentations but downplayed them as “honest mistakes” by staff members.
道格·斯特纳（Doug Sterner）曾两次获得铜星勋章，是美国军事荣誉领域的顶尖专家之一。他告诉《华盛顿邮报》（The Washington Post），弗利波（Flippo）的错误“非常严重”，并补充道：“令人遗憾的是，这种行为已经多次发生；这明显是一种欺骗行为——此人试图掩盖自己真实的服役经历……这本质上就是谎言。”不过弗利波仍有可能获胜：两年前他在内华达州一个竞争激烈的选区参选，但在共和党初选中落败；后来他转到了一个共和党支持率较高的选区，并获得了包括唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）在内的党内领导人的支持。按照常规看法，他应该是这场选举的绝对热门人选。
It’s the repetition of the error that stands out in a story like this one. We’re not just talking about a random social media post published by an obscure intern. Rather, Flippo and his political operation, which has made his military service the centerpiece of his candidacy, have included the same exaggeration in television ads and multiple fundraising appeals. Doug Sterner, a recipient of two Bronze Stars and one of the nation’s foremost experts on military awards, told the Post that Flippo’s error was “a big deal,” adding, “It’s pretty sad that this is a multiple-time thing. It shows a pattern of deception. It is someone trying to give an impression of their service that is not true. … It amounts to a lie.” Flippo might very well win anyway. He ran in a competitive Nevada district two years ago and lost in a GOP primary, before he moved to a more reliably red district and picked up support from party leaders, including Donald Trump. The conventional wisdom suggests he’s the overwhelming favorite.
不过，近年来也有其他共和党候选人因夸大自己的军事经历而遇到麻烦，例如俄亥俄州的J.R.马耶夫斯基（J.R. Majewski）和弗吉尼亚州的洪·曹（Hung Cao）。我还想起乔治亚州的赫歇尔·沃克（Herschel Walker）——他在2022年参选参议员时声称自己拥有从未存在过的军事“履历”。
That said, some of the other Republican candidates in recent years who’ve been caught exaggerating their military service did struggle, including Ohio’s J.R. Majewski and Virginia’s Hung Cao. I’m also reminded of Georgia’s Herschel Walker, who during his failed 2022 Senate bid referenced a military “career” that never existed.
在大选中，弗利波将面对民主党候选人特蕾莎·贝尼特斯-汤普森（Teresa Benitez-Thompson），后者曾担任内华达州议会的多数党领袖。让我们继续关注这一选举进程吧。
Flippo will face Democrat Teresa Benitez-Thompson, the former majority leader of the Nevada Assembly, in the general election. Watch this space.