俄亥俄州桑达斯基 — — 在经历了四年由共和党控制、因议长叛乱而动荡、派系冲突失控以及议会常规崩溃之后，民主党众议员Marcy Kaptur站在竞选支持者面前，描述了一种不同的众议院多数派形象。
SANDUSKY, Ohio — After four years in a GOP-controlled chamber rocked by a speaker revolt, unchecked factional conflicts and routine floor meltdowns, Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur stood before a crowd of campaign supporters and described a different kind of House majority.
就在她身旁的湖畔冲浪酒吧里，站着民主党第二号领袖Katherine Clark众议员。正如Kaptur所说，若民主党在中期选举中获胜，Clark将恢复众议院的“秩序感”，这也将使Clark有望成为首位担任多数党领袖的女性。
Standing beside her inside a lakeside surf bar was Rep. Katherine Clark, the No. 2 party leader who, Kaptur said, would restore “a sense of order” to the House if Democrats prevail in the midterms — putting Clark in line to be the first woman to serve as majority leader.
“管理几百名国会议员可不是孩子玩的游戏，”Kaptur说。“我等不及了。如今众议院里混乱不堪。”这算是对Clark作为民主党党团执行者的新兴声誉的小小肯定 — — 她是一位来自马萨诸塞州的高个子、铁石心肠的律师，作为少数党鞭，她不惧在众议院进行严肃的对话 — — 以及她可能肩负的更重大任务。
“To handle a couple hundred members of Congress is no kid job,” Kaptur said. “And I just cannot wait. We have so much disorder in the House now.”That was a small nod to Clark’s emerging reputation as the Democratic Caucus’ enforcer — a tall, steely lawyer from Massachusetts who is unafraid of stern conversations on the House floor as minority whip — and the much bigger job she could have ahead of her.
如果民主党多数派得以实现，它将包括像Clark这样的坚定进步派，以及“制造多数派”的温和派和一批新晋左翼议员，其中一些人自称民主社会主义者。Clark和党内最高领袖Hakeem Jeffries致力于压制任何内部争斗，并让众议院聚焦于可负担性和问责制议程，以此为2028年总统胜利铺平道路。
If a Democratic majority materializes, it will include committed progressives like Clark herself, as well as “majority-maker” moderates and a crop of new leftist lawmakers, some of whom identify as democratic socialists. Clark and the party’s top leader, Hakeem Jeffries, are intent on squelching any infighting and keeping the House focused on an affordability and accountability agenda that will pave the way for a presidential win in 2028.
为此，Clark最近几周一直在全国奔走，与广泛的现任和潜在未来立法者建立关系 — — 包括此次俄亥俄州北部的摇摆州之行。
To that end, Clark has spent the recent weeks traveling the country and building relationships with a broad range of current and potential future lawmakers — including this northern Ohio swing.
“这不是说由某一特定群体决定要么按我的方式来，要么走高速公路，”她在接受采访时说，描述她所听到的情况。“我们并不总能保持一致。人们经常对我作为党鞭所作的决定提出异议，但关键在于理解党团，围绕共同的价值观和主线把大家凝聚在一起。”成员们反过来也肯定克拉克善于倾听，同时认识到管理一个思想多元、对“治理”到底意味着什么持有不同看法的民主党人群体所面临的挑战。
“This isn't going to be my-way-or-the-highway from any one given group,” she said in an interview, describing what she’s heard. “We're not always going to agree. People disagree with calls I make as the whip all the time, but the point is to understand the caucus, pull us together on those common values and threads.”The members, in turn, credit Clark with listening while recognizing the challenge of managing an ideologically diverse group of Democrats with diverging views on what exactly governing means.
“要做好这份工作的一部分，就是了解成员们，”克拉克访问了其阿克伦地区选区的众议员艾米莉亚·塞克斯（Emilia Sykes）如是说。“是什么驱动着他们？你可以在何处推动他们达到你需要他们所在的位置，或是不需要他们所在的位置，而只有通过深入了解人们才能得到这一点。”
“Part of doing that job well is getting to know the members,” said Rep. Emilia Sykes, whom Clark visited in her Akron-area district. “What makes them tick? Where you can push them to where you need them to be or not need them to be, and you only get that from getting to know people well.”
作为一名温和派议员，如果她能赢得连任，卡普图（Kaptur）将成为任职时间最长的众议院民主党人。她表示，她相信克拉克具备“有能力在众议院维持秩序，按时完成我们的工作”的素质。这一点来自于一个与克拉克所代表的高度富裕、高度受教育、高度自由的波士顿郊区截然不同的工人阶级摇摆选区成员的信任，显得尤为重要——尤其是因为她在最近几个月里从未回避就焦点议题表达自己的观点。
Kaptur, a moderate who would be the longest-serving House Democrat if she can win reelection, said she believed Clark is well equipped to “keep order in the House, get our business done on time.”It’s a notable vote of confidence from a member in a working-class swing district quite unlike the highly upscale, highly educated, highly liberal Boston suburbs Clark herself represents — and especially because she has not been shy in recent months about expressing her views on flashpoint issues.
当众议员托马斯·马西（Thomas Massie，R-Ky.）提出一项修正案，旨在终止国务院对以色列的援助时，克拉克是同意该修正案的最高级别民主党人——这意味着她与杰弗里斯（Jeffries）决裂，并在当时告诉《政治》杂志（POLITICO），这是一个“明确表明现状不可接受”的机会。大约一半的众议院民主党人站在了克拉克一边，这暴露出一个共和党肯定会利用的重要分歧——一旦他们沦为少数党。
When Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced an amendment to end State Department aid to Israel, Clark was the top-ranking Democrat to agree — breaking with Jeffries and telling POLITICO at the time it was an opportunity “to say clearly that the status quo is not acceptable.”About half of House Democrats sided with Clark, exposing a significant fault line that Republicans are sure to exploit if they land in the minority.
当被问及在多数党中，党团将如何处理以色列问题时，克拉克拒绝阐明立场，而是将此事交给杰弗里斯处理，并称其为“正在进行的讨论”。
When asked about how the caucus would handle the Israel issue in the majority, Clark declined to outline a position, deferring to Jeffries and calling the topic an “ongoing discussion.”
“这不是一件容易的事，”她说，“但我认为哈基姆已经明确表示，作为新一届国会，我们将团结一致，决定我们希望在该问题上朝哪个方向前进，我认为这是正确的做法。”
“It's not an easy one,” she said, “but I think that Hakeem has been clear that we, as the new Congress, are going to come together and decide where we want to move with that, and I think that's the right approach.”On another major left-wing litmus test for leaders — promoting “Medicare for All” legislation — Clark has a long history of support. Jeffries has also supported the measure but has faced criticism for not committing to putting the legislation up for a vote.
在另一个左翼领袖的重要试金石问题上——推动“全民医保”立法——克拉克有着长期的支持历史。杰弗里斯也支持该措施，但因未承诺将该立法提交表决而受到批评。克拉克同样未能保证该立法将获得表决。
Clark, too, stopped short of guaranteeing a vote.
“全民医保对不同的人意味着不同的东西，我认为具体的立法载体尚未确定，”克拉克说。“我们将采用哪项具体法案或模式尚未确定，每一个想法都在讨论范围之内。”
“Medicare for All means different things to different people, and I think what the specific legislative vehicle is, is yet to be decided,” Clark said. “Which particular bill or model we go for is yet to be determined, and every idea is one that's on the table.”Making a plan to confront tough issues is one thing, getting members to stick with the team is another, and Clark has been tested recently on that front.
制定应对艰难问题的计划是一回事，让成员坚持团队立场又是另一回事，而克拉克最近在这一方面受到了考验。
After two Democrats — Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington and Jared Golden of Maine — joined with Republicans on a key procedural vote last month, essentially helping Speaker Mike Johnson out of a pickle, Clark reacted sharply — suggesting that Gluesenkamp Perez should lose her seat on the coveted Appropriations Committee. (Golden is retiring.) The move was in line with her job as party whip, and it channeled the fury of many rank-and-file Democrats. But no punishment has been publicly announced for Gluesenkamp Perez amid a larger review of caucus rules around party discipline, and Jeffries told reporters last month there was “no daylight” between Democratic leaders on the matter.
上个月，两名民主党众议员——华盛顿州的玛丽·格卢森坎普·佩雷斯和缅因州的杰拉德·戈尔登——与共和党人在一项关键程序性投票中站在同一边，实际上帮助议长迈克·约翰逊摆脱了困境。对此，克拉克作出了强烈反应——暗示格卢森坎普·佩雷斯应失去她在备受瞩目的拨款委员会的席位。（戈尔登正在退休。）此举符合她作为党鞭的职责，并体现了许多基层民主党人的愤怒。
但就在对党团纪律规则进行更广泛审查的过程中，格卢森坎普·佩雷斯尚未受到任何公开宣布的惩罚。杰弗里斯上个月对记者表示，民主党领导层在此事上“毫无分歧”。
Clark’s predecessor as No. 2 Democratic leader, Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, said that while “whip” might be in the job title, managing a legislative caucus can require a soft touch. He repeated advice he’d been given by one of his own political mentors.
克拉克的前任民主党第二号人物、马里兰州众议员斯泰尼·霍耶表示，虽然“党鞭”可能在职位名称中，但管理一个立法党团可能需要柔和的手腕。他重复了自己曾从一位政治导师那里得到的建议。
“Don't go through life in the rearview mirror,” he said. “What happened yesterday happened yesterday. What happens today makes a difference. … If you're the minority leader or the whip, you need somebody the next day all the time.”Asked if she is the “enforcer” on the Democratic leadership team, Clark emphasized she is not the sole disciplinarian but acknowledged that managing a caucus can require a firm hand.
“别总活在后视镜里，”他说。“昨天发生的事情就是昨天发生的事情。今天发生的事情才会有所不同。……如果你是少数党领袖或党鞭，你每天都需要有人在第二天支持你。”当被问及她是否是民主党领导团队中的“执行者”时，克拉克强调她不是唯一的纪律执行者，但承认管理党团有时需要强硬的手段。
“There are times when each of us takes on that role, and certainly in the whip position, that's part of my job,” she said, adding that her general approach “is one of understanding where people are.”Others have recognized her ability to play hardball, however. Rep. Sara Jacobs of California, who attended an Akron women’s conference with Sykes, told attendees that Clark has been an effective advocate in negotiations over child care funding.
“我们每个人都有时会承担这个角色，当然在党鞭这个职位上，这是我工作的一部分，”她说，并补充说她的总体方法“是理解人们所处的位置。”然而，其他人也承认她有打硬仗的能力。加州众议员萨拉·雅各布斯，她曾与赛克斯一起参加阿克伦妇女会议，告诉与会者克拉克在儿童保育资金谈判中一直是个有效的倡导者。“她在需要的时候非常强硬，”雅各布斯说。
“She's fierce when she needs to be,” Jacobs said.
克拉克自己提到照护工作——对儿童、老年人和残障人士——作为她希望留下印记的领域。温和派和进步派民主党派别都在下一届国会中提出了应对这一问题的计划。
Clark herself cited caregiving — for children, the aging and the disabled — as a place she is looking to make a mark. Blocs of moderate and progressive Democrats have both outlined plans to tackle the issue in the next Congress.
“这些议题是我能以非常不同的方式带入领导层讨论桌，并帮助影响即将提交议事日程的政策，”她说。“因此，我可以从前辈那里学到很多，但从未有女性担任过多数党领袖，我真的很期待能够为这项工作带来独特的视角。”
“These are the issues that I can bring in a very different way to the leadership table and help influence the policies that are coming to the floor,” she said. “So there's a lot to learn from predecessors, but no woman's ever been a majority leader, and I really look forward to being able to bring a unique lens to that work.”