又中又英｜A clean sweep

There is much soul-searching within the Democratic Party after its drubbing by Donald Trump and his Republican Party in the US elections. The expression “soul-searching” means a deep, long, and careful examination of your beliefs and feelings to understand the reasons for your actions. A drubbing means losing by a lot, such as in a sports match or an election. The Democratic Party is soul-searching to understand why the party and its presidential candidate Kamala Harris lost so badly. Trump and his Republican Party made a clean sweep in the election.

A clean sweep means winning everything that is available to win. A candidate must win the Electoral College to be elected president. At least 270 Electoral College votes are needed to win. Trump won 312 compared to Harris’s 226. Each of the 50 US states has a certain number of Electoral College votes depending on size and population. The Electoral College votes for each state includes the two senators each state has and the number of members it has in the House of Representatives. Trump also won the popular vote by winning more votes from ordinary voters than Harris.

Electoral College votes, not the popular vote, decide who wins the presidency. Trump lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton in 2016 but won the presidency by getting more Electoral College votes. Republican presidents have not won the popular vote for 20 years. Trump’s Republican Party has also regained control of the Senate from the Democrats and is likely to keep its control of the House of Representatives when all mail-in votes are counted. This is a clean sweep because Republicans will control the White House and the Congress.

民主党在美国大选中被唐纳德‧特朗普及其所属的共和党打得落花流水（drubbing）后，有着深刻的反省（soul-searching）。习语“soul-searching”是指深刻、漫长、仔细的反省，审视自己的信念和感受，去透彻明了自己的行为背后的原因。A drubbing 是指被彻底打败，例如在一场运动比赛又或选举之中。民主党正在痛定思痛（soul-searching），要了解为何政党及候选人贺锦丽会输得这样惨烈。特朗普和他的共和党人在大选中取得了压倒性的胜利（a clean sweep）。

A clean sweep是指大获全胜。一个候选人必须赢得较多的选举人票（Electoral College），才能当选总统，要胜出至少要有二百七十张选举人（Electoral College）票。相比贺锦丽的二百二十六张，特朗普取得了三百一十二张。五十个美国州分根据面积与人口各有相应的选举人（Electoral College）票，而每个州的选举人（Electoral College）票包括了州分所拥有的两位参议员以及众议员人数。特朗普亦从一般选民中比贺锦丽赢得更多的普选票。

谁能夺得总统之位，是取决于Electoral College votes，即选举人票，而非普选票。在二零一六年的大选中，特朗普在普选票中输给希拉莉，但靠着夺得更多的选举人（Electoral College）票而当选总统。来自共和党的总统们已经有二十年没有赢过普选票了。特朗普的共和党亦从民主党中夺回参议院的控制权，而当所有邮寄选票都点算过后，亦很有可能可以继续掌控众议院。这实在是大获全胜（a clean sweep），因为共和党人将会执掌白宫与国会。

mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻