在政治中，你有时只能做你能做的事。所有100名依法选出并宣誓就职的美国参议员都明白为什么参议院在九月底开会了一周。
In politics, you sometimes just do what you can. All 100 duly chosen and sworn U.S. senators understood why the Senate met for a week at the end of September.
的确有大学体育法案。的确有劳工部长基思·桑德林的确认。确实还有一场前特别检察官杰克·史密斯的大型听证会。
Yes there was the college sports bill. Yes there was the confirmation of Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling. Yes there was a big hearing with former special counsel Jack Smith.
但如果你认为双方真的在那里为了制定一项降低美国人生活成本的方案而努力，那你就大错特错了。不要相信我的话。相信参议员的话。
But you’d be badly mistaken if you thought both sides were really there to hammer out a package to bring down the cost of living for Americans. Don’t take my word for it. Take the word of the senators.
你说得对，民主党阻止了两项共和党称选民真正想要的法案。一项是旨在降低消费者为数据中心支付成本的措施，另一项是限制立法者股票交易的计划。后者甚至包括选民身份证要求——这对共和党及其基础至关重要。但共和党参议员知道民主党不会接受这些提议。这纯粹是政治。而民主党参议员也不会接受共和党的任何立法提议。因此，我们先从《费率保护法案》开始说起。
You are correct to say that Democrats blocked two bills that Republicans say voters really want. One was a measure to diminish the costs consumers pay for data centers and a plan to restrict stock trades by lawmakers. The latter bill even included a voter ID requirement – crucial to the GOP and its base. But Republican senators knew that Democrats wouldn’t accept these proposals. This was about politics. And Democratic senators wouldn’t accept any of the GOP’s legislative propositions, either. So let’s start with the Ratepayer Protection Act.
双方都清楚，选民对人工智能感到困惑，而在数据中心问题上几乎要崩溃。共和党内部一份八月份的备忘录显示，该党尤其担忧这对参议员约翰·赫斯特（R-俄亥俄州）意味着什么。俄亥俄州州长迈克·德怀因去年任命赫斯特进入参议院，以接替副总统JD·万斯。赫斯特曾在“眼镜蛇州”（俄亥俄州的昵称）担任官员期间，推动数据中心的发展。因此，在中期选举前参议院会期的最后一周充斥着政治。
Both sides know that voters are tripped out about AI and utterly losing it when it comes to data centers. An internal GOP memo in August revealed that the party was especially leery of what this meant for Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Husted to the Senate last year to succeed Vice President JD Vance. Husted helped foster development of data centers as an official back in the Buckeye State. So, the final week of the Senate’s session before the midterms crawled with politics.
共和党人担心他们“在降价方面根本没做任何事”，面临中期选举的清算。共和党旨在遏制与数据中心建设相关的飙升的公用事业成本。
Republicans aimed to curb skyrocketing utility costs associated with the construction of data centers. "(People) ought to be guaranteed no electricity bills will go up by a cent because of a data center," said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.
“人们不应因数据中心而导致电费上涨一分钱，” 密苏里州共和党参议员乔什·霍利说。“这传递了一个明确的信息：这些人工智能公司和这些数据中心不能只是进入当地社区，像掠夺一样掠取（土地），提高电费，把人们赶离电网，夺走他们的水。” 但民主党人表示，该法案并未迫使人工智能公司遵守。这仅仅是一个建议，即建设数据中心的人应帮助承担部分费用。
"It sends a clear message that these AI companies and these data centers can't just come into local communities and strip mine out (land). Raise the electricity rates. Kick people off the grid. Take their water." But Democrats say the bill didn’t compel compliance by AI firms. This was just a suggestion that those who build the data centers help foot some of the bill.
“这是个骗局，一场闹剧，因为它没有任何执行力，” 康涅狄格州民主党参议员理查德·布卢门撒尔说。
"It is a sham. A charade because it has no enforcement," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
“该法案中的所有内容本来就可以由州监管机构完成。或者本来就可以由数据中心开发商完成。而该法案对他们没有任何要求，” 弗吉尼亚州民主党参议员蒂姆·凯恩辩称。我问凯恩：“有总比没有好吗？” 他不同意。
"Everything in that bill can already be done by a state regulator. Or it can already be done by a data center developer. And the bill requires nothing of them," argued Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. I pressed Kaine on if "something was better than nothing." He disagreed.
“不。你不应该欺骗人们。而这甚至算不上什么东西，” 凯恩回答。“这根本什么都不是。”
"No. You shouldn't trick people. And this is not even something," replied Kaine. "It's nothing,"
纽约州民主党参议员、参议院少数党领袖查克·舒默接着说道：“《费率保护者法案》是一场欺诈。它根本不要求任何保护措施。而美国人正在要求对人工智能和数据中心设立真正的防护栏，共和党人却只提供了一份毫无牙齿的信息法案。” 该法案裹挟着中期选举政治。民主党人声称共和党人发起这次投票是为了给赫斯特抛出一条救生索。
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., piled on with, "The Ratepayer Protection Act is a fraud. It does not require any protections at all. While Americans are demanding real guardrails on AI and data centers, Republicans are offering a toothless messaging bill." The bill is laced with midterm politics. Democrats claim Republicans called the vote to throw a lifeline to Husted.
许多参议院共和党人已经准备好让参议院离开城镇以参加中期选举。但他们在数据中心法案问题上持保留态度。还有赫斯特。
Many Senate Republicans were ready for the Senate to leave town for the midterms. But they hedged their bets around the data center bill. And, Husted.
“你能说这110%不是为了帮助俄亥俄州的乔恩·赫斯特而投票吗？” 我真诚地询问了北达科他州共和党参议员约翰·霍伊文。
"Can you say 110 precent this is not a vote to help Jon Husted in Ohio?" yours truly inquired of Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.
“我认为这会帮助他，” 霍伊文回答。新泽西州民主党参议员安迪·金同意霍伊文的看法。
"I think it will help him," replied Hoeven. Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., agreed with Hoeven.
“我只想说一件事，那就是这显然是一个政治手段，”金说。“这对美国人民没有好处。但这对赫斯特德参议员肯定是有好处的。” 数据中心可能成为2026年中期选举的隐藏议题 赫斯特德与前参议员谢罗德·布朗（民主党-俄亥俄州）之间的分歧是全国最激烈的参议院竞争之一。
"The one thing I'll just say is that this is clearly a political ploy," said Kim. "This is not something that's good for the American people. But it's certainly good for Sen. Husted." The tilt between Husted and former Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is one of the nation’s most contentious Senate contests.
“我认为没有秘密的是，赫斯特德参议员正试图通过一项立法，以便他能回家并竞选投放广告，”新墨西哥州民主党参议员本·雷·卢汉说。赫斯特德也承认了这一点。
"I don't think that there's a secret that Sen. Husted is trying to pass a piece of legislation so he could go home and run a campaign ad," said Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M. Husted conceded as much.
“我们给了每个人一个机会来解决可负担性问题，而民主党人阻止了它。所以我们将围绕此事开展竞选，”赫斯特德说。因此，是的。参议院上周的会议内容围绕中期选展开。
"We gave everybody a chance to do something about affordability and the Democrats blocked it. So we'll go campaign on it," said Husted. So yes. The Senate’s last week of session was about the midterms.
“在选举前的九月下旬或十月，曾经有过不是全然政治的时期吗？”北卡罗来纳州共和党参议员汤姆·蒂利斯问道。
"Has there ever been a late September or October before an election that wasn't all politics?" asked Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
彼得·韦尔奇参议员（民主党-佛蒙特州）在数据中心法案上的立场变化可能就是一个例子。
The evolving positions on the data center bill by Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., may be an example of that.
韦尔奇在9月23日被问及该立法时投了赞成票，当时该法案在众议院以压倒性优势通过。“我支持它，我很乐意对其进行投票，”韦尔奇说。
Welch was a yea when asked about the legislation on September 23 , after it overwhelmingly cleared the House. "I support it and I'd be glad to vote on it," said Welch.
但当该议题接近在参议院进行点名表决时，佛蒙特州民主党人改投了反对票。“你为什么改变主意？”我问韦尔奇。
But the Vermont Democrat flipped to nay when the issue approached a roll call vote on the floor. "Why did you change? I asked Welch.
“嗯，有两点原因。一是他们不允许我们提出修正案。二是这个法案的问题在于它没有实质内容，”他回答道。
"Well, two things. One, they won't allow us to have an amendment. And the problem with this bill is that it has no teeth," he replied.
因此，问题在于各方是更倾向于采取行动，还是更倾向于保留议题。事实上，可以认为赫斯特德可能通过阻挠该法案作为对手，在对比民主党时获得了一些政治资本。
So the question is whether the sides prefer action. Or, if they’d rather have the issue. In fact it could be argued that Husted may have scored some political capital, deploying the blocked bill as a foil in an effort to contrast himself to Democrats.
“这本应是参议院内显而易见的事情，”南达科他州共和党参议员、参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩说。
"It ought to be something that should be a no brainer here on the floor of the Senate," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
在参议院竞选中，很少有竞争仅因单一议题而转折。当然也不会因一次辩论或投票而改变。民主党缅因州参议员提名人特洛伊·杰克逊正在施压缅因州共和党参议员苏珊·柯林斯，因她在2018年投票确认最高法院大法官布雷特·卡瓦诺。那是历史上最具争议性的确认战之一。但柯林斯在2020年赢得了连任。那次投票是在八年前发生的。
It’s rare that competitive Senate contests pivot on a solitary issue. And certainly an individual debate or vote. Democratic Maine Senate nominee Troy Jackson is pushing Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, on her vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Bret Kavanaugh in 2018. It was one of the most factious confirmation battles in history. But Collins won reelection in 2020. That vote was eight years ago.
就在选举前夕，关于数据中心措施的投票可能在选民心中埋下一颗种子。而由于共和党在可负担性问题上挣扎——随后人工智能和数据中心成为议题——迫使进行这次投票可能是共和党目前能采取的最佳政治策略。在竞选中，你会尽你所能。
A vote like the one on the data center measure just before the election can plant a seed in the mind of voters. And since Republicans were struggling on affordability – and then AI and data centers emerged as an issue – forcing this vote was probably the best political play the GOP had at its disposal. In campaigns, you do all you can.
假设休斯特在两周后以微弱差距败给布朗。也许如果休斯特获胜，共和党本来可以保住参议院。也许退出民调显示，选民希望共和党在可负担性问题上做得更多。届时，党内人士可能会指责参议院共和党领导层犯下政治失误，因为他们剥夺了休斯特阐述自己观点的机会。
Let’s say for a moment that Husted loses narrowly to Brown in two weeks. And maybe Republicans would have held the Senate had Husted prevailed. Perhaps exit polling reveals that voters wished Republicans had done more on affordability. Party insiders would then accuse the Senate GOP brass of political malpractice by denying Husted a chance to make his case.
这就是休斯特所能做的最好努力。也是参议院共和党所能做的最好努力。这可能不会奏效。但至少共和党可以说他们已经尽了自己所能。
It was the best Husted could do. And the best Senate Republicans could do. It may not work. But at least Republicans can say they did what they could.