又中又英｜Political wilderness

It's been two months since Donald Trump became the US President for the second time and his Republican Party won control of both Houses of Congress. The defeated Democratic Party is still lost in the political wilderness, looking for a way out. The word "wilderness" means a remote and undeveloped area with forests, overgrown bushes, or wild animals. If a political party is in the political wilderness, it means the party has lost power and influence. The Democrats are on their heels and trying to find their footing.

To be on your heels means to be following closely behind someone and trying to catch up. To find your footing used this way means trying to become confident or successful again. The Democratic Party has still not found its footing in a way that can threaten Trump's popularity. Latest polls show the president's popularity is shrinking, but not by very much. Democrats are divided over what political message is most effective in motivating Americans to stand up against Trump and his controversial policies, such as empowering Elon Musk, the world's richest person, to fire thousands of government employees.

Polls show many Americans oppose Trump giving so much power to Musk, but Trump voters support Musk’s mass firing of government workers to cut costs. Some frustrated Democratic members of Congress are now publicly using swear words such as "f..k" and "shit" to criticize Trump and Musk! It is not unusual for American politicians to sometimes use bad language in public, but this has now become more frequent.

当劳．特朗普第二度就任美国总统，以及其共和党取得国会两院的控制权以来，已有两个月了。被击败的民主党仍然在“政治荒野”（political wilderness）中迷失，寻求出路。Wilderness是指偏远和未开发，满是丛林、杂草与野兽的荒野；若一个政党身处political wilderness，意即那个政党已不在权力的中心，丧失了权力和影响力。民主党正在on their heels，努力尝试find their footing。

To be on your heels是指紧紧跟随某人身后，紧贴着要追赶上步伐；to find your footing在这里是指尝试站稳脚步，或再度取得成功。民主党还未找到方法站稳脚步（found its footing），足以威胁特朗普的民望。最新民调显示，总统的民望正在收窄，但也不是少很多。民主党人之间亦有分化，不知哪种政治讯息能最有效激发美国人站起来抗议特朗普及其具争议的政策，例如授权世界首富伊隆．马斯克去炒掉数以万计的政府雇员。

民调显示，许多美国人反对特朗普给予马斯克这么大的权力，但投票选特朗普的选民则支持马斯克大刀阔斧炒掉政府员工以缩减成本。一些恼怒的民主党国会议员，现在都会公然用F字头粗口或"shit"这样的脏话去批评特朗普和马斯克！美国政客有时公开说粗言秽语也不是罕见的，但现在却变得越来越频密。

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中译：七刻
褚简宁