当2026年中期选举的历史被书写时，最令人铭记的政治事件将是俄亥俄州州长候选人维韦克·拉马斯瓦米（Vivek Ramaswamy，共和党）的一则竞选广告，广告中出现了他的对手、民主党人艾米·阿克顿博士（Dr. Amy Acton）的母亲。阿克顿的母亲在广告中称女儿为“骗子”，她在丈夫因强奸继女阿克顿被起诉后，带着这名虐待成性的丈夫逃离了该州。
When the history of the 2026 midterm elections is written, the most remembered political will be Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s (R) commercial starring the mother of his opponent, Dr. Amy Acton (D). Acton was called a “liar” by her mother, who fled the state along with her abusive husband after he was charged with raping Acton, his stepdaughter.
阿克顿被俄亥俄州政府从家中带走，自1978年以来便再未见过母亲。拉马斯瓦米的广告引发了即时的政治反弹。俄亥俄州共和党州长迈克·德怀恩（Mike DeWine）敦促拉马斯瓦米撤下广告。当地企业取消了原定由这位陷入困境的共和党候选人出席的活动。《克利夫兰平原报》（Cleveland Plain Dealer）背书支持阿克顿，称拉马斯瓦米“越界了”。
Removed from her home by the state of Ohio, Acton had not seen her mother since 1978. Ramaswamy’s generated an immediate political backlash. Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, urged Ramaswamy to take it off the air. Local businesses canceled events featuring the beleaguered Republican candidate. And the Cleveland Plain Dealer endorsed Acton, saying that Ramaswamy had “crossed a line.”
但特朗普总统和万斯副总统加倍支持拉马斯瓦米。特朗普表示，如果一位候选人的母亲称自己的女儿为骗子，那是政治上的“金矿”。万斯抱怨共和党人应该“别再抱怨”拉马斯瓦米的手段，并补充道：“政治是残酷的生意。”在花费100万美元后，拉马斯瓦米竞选团队将这则有争议的广告撤下。但这里起作用的因素比一位共和党候选人的冒险举动要大得多。
But President Trump and JD Vance doubled down in backing Ramaswamy. Trump said that if a candidate’s mother called her daughter a liar, that was political “gold.”Vance complained that Republicans should “stop whining” about Ramaswamy’s tactics, adding, “Politics is a tough business.”After spending $1 million, the Ramaswamy campaign took the controversial ad off the air. But something bigger than the misadventures of one Republican candidate is at work here.
在堪萨斯州，一位牧师有机会赢得民主党自1932年以来未曾赢得的参议院席位。而在得克萨斯州，一位州参议员兼神学院学生在民调中持续领先，让民主党有机会在该党自1988年以来未曾赢得过联邦参议员席位的州赢得一个席位。有人认为，只有特朗普能逃脱播放像拉马斯瓦米那样广告的后果。毕竟，当特朗普初登政坛时，许多忠实追随者钦佩他拒绝“政治正确”、说出其他传统政治家不敢说的话。
In Kansas, a pastor has a chance to win a Senate seat Democrats have not won since 1932. And in Texas, a state senator and seminarian, has consistently run ahead in the polls, giving Democrats a chance to win a U.S. Senate seat in a state where the party has not won one since 1988. Some have said that only Trump could have gotten away with running an ad like Ramaswamy’s. After all, when Trump first appeared on the political scene many of his devoted followers admired him for rejecting “political correctness” and saying things other conventional politicians would not.
但这是错的。如今，政治死亡的腐臭连特朗普最忠实的追随者也驱赶走了。在竞选途中，特朗普对着座无虚席的场馆发表演说。正如参议员……乔恩·奥索夫（民主党-佐治亚州）称，出席者要忍受两小时的“老年痴呆般的胡言乱语”。甚至十几位被拍到为特朗普祈祷的天主教主教也与他划清界限。密尔沃基总主教杰弗里·S·格罗布称这次会面是个错误，并为“我造成的痛苦”道歉。
But this is wrong. Today, the stench of political death has repelled even Trump’s most devoted followers. On the campaign trail, Trump speaks to arenas filled with empty seats. And in the words of Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), those who show up are subjected to two hours of “senile babbling.”Even a dozen Catholic bishops who were filmed praying over Trump distanced themselves from him. Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey S. Grob called the meeting a mistake and apologized for “the pain I caused.”
丹佛总主教詹姆斯·R·戈尔卡表示，“我从未打算”让这次会面被视为一种背书。美国人对特朗普的表现深感不满，包括高昂的汽油和食品杂货价格、城市街头无辜市民被杀害、对在美国养育家庭且是经济增长重要引擎的移民进行大规模驱逐，以及挑起与伊朗的战争。这与特朗普2024年降低物价、仅驱逐有犯罪记录的移民、绝不再发动对外战争的承诺背道而驰。
Denver Archbishop James R. Golka said it “was never my intention” for the encounter to be seen as an endorsement. Americans are profoundly dissatisfied with Trump’s performance, including high gas and grocery prices, the killing of innocent citizens on urban streets, the mass deportation of migrants who have raised families in the U.S. and are a vital engine of economic growth and starting a war with Iran. This runs contrary to Trump’s 2024 promises to bring down costs, deport only migrant criminals and never start another foreign war.
背叛感如此弥漫，以至于特朗普的工作支持率跌至历史低点。特朗普不解决美国人最关心的问题，却在建舞厅和拱门，用金饰堆砌白宫，破坏国家广场上的倒影池。巴拉克·奥巴马将特朗普金碧辉煌的白宫比作萨达姆·侯赛因开了一家“芝士蛋糕工厂”餐厅。解决特朗普制造的问题的前路不明。有人希望通过设立“全民医保”选项来应对医疗危机。
The sense of betrayal is so pervasive that Trump’s job approval ratings have fallen to historic lows. Rather than solving the problems that concern Americans most, Trump is building a ballroom and an arch, littering the White House with gold and defacing the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall. Barack Obama likened Trump’s gold-littered White House to Saddam Hussein’s opening a Cheesecake Factory. The path forward to addressing the problems Trump has created is unclear. Some want to deal with the healthcare crisis by creating a Medicare for All option.
人工智能导致的潜在失业及如何监管是大多数人同意必须采取行动的问题，但解决方案不明。解决住房不足和承担育儿成本涉及不同路径。而伊朗战争如同一个无解的谜题，持久和平协议可能根本不可能。但清楚的是，美国人要求结束胡作非为的言辞，想要值得敬仰的领袖。两位前总统——一位民主党人，一位共和党人——树立了至今仍引起共鸣的榜样。
Potential job losses caused by artificial intelligence and how to regulate it are issues where most agree something must be done, but the solutions are unclear. Dealing with inadequate housing and covering the cost of childcare involve differing approaches. And the Iran War is akin to an unsolvable puzzle where a lasting peace deal might be impossible. But what is clear is that Americans are demanding an end to the anything-goes rhetoric and want leaders they can admire. Two past presidents — one a Democrat, the other a Republican — set examples that resonate today.
水门事件的恶臭散去后，吉米·卡特承诺建立一个“和美国人民一样称职、一样富有同情心、一样优秀”的政府。卡特的继任者罗纳德·里根也备受推崇。纽约州民主党籍州长马里奥·库莫曾评价里根说：“看他个人的表现——被枪击时、被告知患癌症时、去诺曼底时——他的举止给我的孩子们上了一堂道德课。”孟德斯鸠男爵曾论证，美德是“让共和制政府运转起来的动力”。
After the stench of Watergate, Jimmy Carter promised a government that was “as competent, as compassionate, as good” as the American people. Carter’s successor, Ronald Reagan, was also widely admired. New York’s Democratic governor, Mario Cuomo, once said of Reagan, “By his personal conduct when he’s shot, when he’s told he has cancer, when he goes to Normandy — the way he’s deported himself has been a moral instruction to my children.”Baron de Montesquieu once argued that virtue is “the spring which sets the republican government in motion.”
今年，民主党人亚当·汉密尔顿在堪萨斯州和詹姆斯·塔拉里科在得克萨斯州进行的具有竞争力的竞选，显示出一个新时代正在浮现：党派之争被抛在一边，取而代之的是树立崇高道德榜样、让我们其余人都能敬仰的有德领袖。政府的动力或许已重新开始运转，但特朗普时代已经结束。死因：政治自杀。约翰·肯尼斯·怀特是美国天主教大学荣休教授，在 Substack 上撰文。
This year, the competitive races run by Democrats Adam Hamilton in Kansas and James Talarico in Texas are signs of an emerging new era where partisanship is cast aside in favor of virtuous leaders who set a high moral example and are role models the rest of us can admire. The springs of government may be back in motion, but the Trump Era is over. Cause of death: political suicide. John Kenneth White is a professor emeritus at The Catholic University of America who writes on Substack.
他与马修·R·克贝尔合著的最新著作名为《民主在悬崖边：特朗普大选与美国政治的未来》。
His latest book, coauthored with Matthew R. Kerbel, is titled “Democracy on the Edge: The Trump Elections and the Future of American Politics.”