“副州长［佩吉·弗拉纳根］就在我们今天坐在这儿的时候，依然对所有欺诈问题毫无任何担责之意，还继续把责任推给州长。我要坦率地说：这简直让我气炸了。”上述言论并非出自共和党人，而是出自民主党众议员安吉·克雷格。她来自明尼苏达州，今年7月正与弗拉纳根争夺民主党联邦参议员候选人提名。在初选竞争中，尖锐的言辞往往屡见不鲜，但这一次，人们不禁要问：谎言究竟在哪里？
"The lieutenant governor [Peggy Flanagan], even as we sit here today, continues to take absolutely no accountability for any of the fraud issues, and she continues to blame the governor. And I'm going to be honest: It's pissing me off." The above quote is not from a Republican, but from Democratic Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn, in July when she was running in the Senate primary against Peggy Flanagan. While harsh words are often lightly thrown in primary battles, in this case, one must ask: Where is the lie? While Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Colorado’s House candidate Milot Kiros have snagged headlines for their far left views, Flanagan has been able to hide a bit.
然而，明尼苏达州选情日益胶着，这一点无论从实地报道还是民调中都能看出，这令民主党人处处陷入尴尬，因为他们原本以为，弗拉纳根的左翼疯话在本轮选举中不会引起外界关注。但现在不一样了。
However, the tightening race in Minnesota, as shown both through on-the-ground reporting and in polling, is putting Democrats everywhere in an awkward position because they had thought Flanagan’s leftist lunacy would float under the radar this cycle. Well, not anymore.
大卫·马库斯：在深蓝明尼苏达，中期选举前可能正在迎来红色黎明。如今，“北美黄油州”已牢牢处于政治聚光灯下，选民借此再次想起，例如，弗拉纳根曾穿过一件印有“保护跨性别儿童”字样和大号鲍伊猎刀图案的T恤衫——这在理性上只能被解读为对人身暴力的威胁。
DAVID MARCUS: IN DEEP BLUE MINNESOTA A RED DAWN MAY BE RISING AHEAD OF THE MIDTERMS Now that the Gopher State is firmly in the political spotlight, voters will be reminded, for example, of Flanagan wearing a T-shirt that says "Protect Trans Kids" on it, with a picture of a large Bowie knife — which can only be rationally read as a threat of physical violence.
我们都知道那件T恤衫的含义，因为在我们所处的社会，不仅威胁行为，而且跨性别群体成员实施的、或为保护他们而实施的暴力行为都已司空见惯。《哈利·波特》作者J.K.罗琳仅仅因为相信男性不能变成女性，就不断受到威胁。与跨性别议题有关的大规模枪击事件已成为常态。
We know what the shirt means because not just threats, but also acts of physical violence by, or in defense of, members of the trans community have become commonplace in our society. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is threatened constantly for simply believing that men cannot become women. Trans-related mass shootings have become a norm.
进步派抗议活动和网络论坛中充斥着“杀死所有TERFS（排斥跨性别者的激进女权主义者）”之类的言论。弗拉纳根非但没有试图缓和紧张局势，反而以死亡威胁往话语战火上浇油，同时坚持男性应该参加女子体育赛事。
Progressive protests and internet forums echo with terms like "Kill All TERFS (Trans Excluding Radical Feminists)," and instead of trying to calm tensions, Flanagan’s answer is to pour gasoline on the rhetorical fire with death threats while insisting that men belong in women’s sports.
佩吉·弗拉纳根在关键参议院选战中击败温和派民主党人后，誓言要“撕裂ICE”。在经济问题上，弗拉纳根也滑向极左，支持17美元的全国最低工资，这将压垮许多小企业，不仅是在明尼苏达州，而是全美各地，还支持“全民医保”，这将夺走每位公民的私人保险。
PEGGY FLANAGAN VOWS TO 'RIP ICE APART' AFTER TOPPLING MODERATE DEM IN KEY SENATE BATTLE On the economy, Flanagan also flails to the far left, favoring a $17 national minimum wage that would crush many small businesses, not just in Minnesota, but across America, and Medicare for All that would take away the private insurance of every citizen.
在多元化、公平和包容方面，弗拉纳根正如你所预料的那样，立场甚至比毛主席还左。她在2023年说：“我们仍然致力于以那些因种族、地理和经济状况而受差距影响最深的人为中心……我们将继续努力接触和赋权那些历史上被政府排除在外的人。”在这一疯狂纲领下创建的荒诞项目之一，是明尼苏达州的大麻合法化努力，该努力根据“特殊公平身份”向人们提供贷款，而且往往是可免除贷款，用于开设药房——其中许多如今已经失败并关闭。
When it comes to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Flanagan is exactly where you would expect her to be, just to the left of chairman Mao, saying in 2023, "We remain committed to centering the people most impacted by disparities based on race, geography, and economic status … We will continue working to engage and empower those who have been historically left out of government." Among the farcical programs created by this unhinged rubric was Minnesota’s marijuana legalization efforts that gave loans, often forgivable, to people based on "special equity status," to open dispensaries — many of which have now failed and closed.
确实，只有政府左派才能把卖大麻这种事搞砸，而这是我们高中时认识的那些瘾君子都能掌握的事情。
Truly, only government leftists could foul up selling weed, something mastered by the stoners we all knew in high school.
当然，这种对“特殊公平”和DEI的强调，也是弗拉纳根大规模索马里欺诈丑闻的根源。举报人被无视，至少数亿美元被盗，因为佩吉不愿批评索马里人。
Of course, this emphasis on "special equity" and DEI also lies at the root of Flanagan’s massive Somali fraud scandal, where whistleblowers were ignored as hundreds of millions, at least, were pilfered because Peggy was uncomfortable criticizing Somalis.
更糟的是，一些涉嫌欺诈者似乎就在弗拉纳根的核心圈子里，包括尼姆科·艾哈迈德。弗拉纳根最近还曾与她一起露面，甚至还戴着全套头巾。艾哈迈德的自闭症中心目前正接受联邦调查。
To make matters worse, some of the alleged fraudsters appear to be inside Flanagan’s inner circle, including Nimco Ahmed, with whom Flanagan recently appeared in full hijab, no less, whose autism center is now under federal investigation.
就弗拉纳根的对手、共和党人米歇尔·塔福亚而言，她向明尼苏达人提供的是一个中间派、温和版的共和党，其立场包括支持堕胎权，甚至激怒了更传统的保守派。
For her part, Flanagan’s opponent, Republican Michele Tafoya, is offering Minnesotans a centrist and moderate version of the GOP with stances such as supporting abortion rights, even angering more traditional conservatives.
塔福亚近几周带着她中间路线的信息展开媒体攻势。人们几乎期待她会在《草原一家亲》节目上接受采访，而弗拉纳根则几乎销声匿迹，只接受最舒适、最呵护式的采访。
Tafoya has taken her middle-of-the-road message on a media blitz in recent weeks. One half expects her to be interviewed on Prairie Home Companion, while Flanagan has all but been in hiding, entertaining only the most comfortable and coddling interviews possible.
尽管明尼苏达州已经开始提前投票，但一个月对弗拉纳根来说太长了，无法采取拜登式的躲在地下室的策略，尤其是塔福亚的全国知名度只会越来越强。
Notwithstanding the fact that early voting has already begun in Minnesota, a month is too long for Flanagan to pull a Biden-esque hide-in-the-basement strategy, especially as Tafoya’s national profile is only growing stronger.
迄今为止，弗拉纳根尚未同意与跃跃欲试的塔福亚辩论，大概出于种种原因，也反映了她失败的记录。但到了这一步，拒绝与对手正面交锋，可能比辩论本身可能造成的任何尴尬都更糟糕。
To date, Flanagan has not agreed to debate the eager Tafoya, presumably for all the reasons, reflecting her failed record. But at this point, refusing to take on her opponent face-to-face might play worse than any embarrassment the event itself might cause.
民主党有一个佩吉·弗拉纳根问题。他们真的、真的、真的不想让她和她那怪异的进步主义品牌出现在周日脱口秀上，但到了这一步，他们可能别无选择。
The Democrats have a Peggy Flanagan problem. They really, really, really don’t want her and her bizarre brand of progressivism on the Sunday shows, but at this point, they may have no choice.
与此同时，对于米歇尔·塔福亚和明尼苏达州人来说，曾经看似渺茫的机会，如今已非常接近五五开。
Meanwhile, for Michele Tafoya and Minnesotans, what once looked like a long shot is now very close to even money.