風蕭蕭_Frank
以文會友
美國人對政治有何看法？“厭惡這個詞還不夠強烈”
選民對華盛頓混亂的普遍不滿超越了政黨、種族、年齡和地域。
傑克·希利從亞利桑那州吉爾伯特報道，
J. 大衛·古德曼休斯頓報道，
珍娜·拉塞爾從緬因州班戈報道，
艾倫·布林德從佐治亞州查姆布利報道。
2023年10月6日
佐治亞州查姆布利市場的小販比安卡·瓦拉 (Bianca Vara) 對華盛頓特區的領導人感到不滿。《紐約時報》拍攝1963年
惠特尼·史密斯的手機響了，她媽媽發來短信，提醒她華盛頓最近令人難以置信的混亂：“極右翼趕走了眾議院議長。現在一片混亂。”
35 歲的史密斯女士是鳳凰城郊區的一名簿記員和注冊獨立人士，她不想參與其中。她試圖通過投票、參加當地競選活動和參加市政會議來保持對公民生活的參與。但在過去一周，險些發生的政府關門和共和黨控製的眾議院領導層政變的混亂局麵證實了許多美國人對聯邦政府最憤世嫉俗的情緒。
“當時的感覺就像，天哪，現在怎麽辦？”她說。
抱怨政治是美國曆史悠久的消遣方式，但最近美國的政治情緒跌至有史以來最糟糕的水平。
在經曆了特朗普總統任期的動蕩、疫情、國會暴動、通貨膨脹、多次總統彈劾以及極右翼共和黨人關於 2020 年大選舞弊的普遍謊言之後，選民表示他們感到疲憊和憤怒。
在最近全國數十次采訪中，無論老少，選民都對下一屆總統大選表達了超越黨派界限的普遍悲觀情緒，並對政治機構的信心搖搖欲墜。
白宮和國會已投入數十億美元來修複和改善國家的道路、港口、管道和互聯網。他們批準了數千億美元來應對氣候變化和降低處方藥成本。拜登總統還免除了數十億美元的學生債務。然而，這些成就尚未得到選民的充分認可。
一小群極右翼共和黨人將國家推向政府關門的邊緣，然後在民主黨的支持下，煽動投票罷免麥卡錫，使國會陷入混亂。民主黨人打賭選民會把麻煩歸咎於共和黨。本周接受采訪的許多選民表示，他們認為整個事件是華盛頓普遍失靈的證據，並指責政治領導人沉迷於職場鬧劇，而犧牲了他們本應服務的人民。
一群西裝革履的男子和警察，中間是凱文·麥卡錫。
眾議員凱文·麥卡錫被罷免眾議院議長後離開眾議院。圖片來源：Maansi Srivastava/紐約時報
“他們似乎與我們如此疏遠，”57 歲的凱文·巴斯 (Kevin Bass) 說，他是一名銀行高管，住在德克薩斯州西部的一個鄉村小鎮新家。他是當地學校董事會成員，有兩個孩子在公立學校上學，另一個在上大學。他自稱是保守派，兩次都投票支持前總統唐納德·J·特朗普 (Donald J. Trump)。 “我真的不認為任何一方能給我們的國家帶來好處，”他說。
選民們表示，華盛頓的內鬥以及共和黨對債務違約和政府關門的動搖，不顧一切地將人們的薪水、醫療保健和福利置於危險之中，而此時，人們正忙於支付不斷上漲的醫療和食品賬單，或應對快速變暖的氣候，這種氣候幾乎在全國每個角落引發了自然災害。
“厭惡這個詞還不足以表達強烈的意思，”比安卡·瓦拉 (Bianca Vara) 說，她是亞特蘭大地區的一名民主黨人，有五個孩子，她在跳蚤市場經營著一個攤位，那裏充斥著關於政治的討論。
她說，她希望華盛頓的領導人能夠解決槍支暴力問題，或者隻是有意義地打擊她接到的自動撥號電話。相反，她沮喪地看著共和黨控製的眾議院陷入了一場內訌。
“這比小學還糟糕，”她說，“就像在操場上，就像躲避球：‘你出局了！你不再是議長了！用紅球打他的頭！’”
一些人表示，他們故意忽略政治新聞，而是關注奶油奶酪（6.99 美元）價格等細節，或者與政治完全無關的事情——芝加哥熊隊以 1 比 4 獲勝，泰勒·斯威夫特將出現在堪薩斯城酋長隊的比賽中。
當史密斯女士的母親向家人發短信，告知凱文·麥卡錫被罷免眾議院議長的消息時，沒有人回複。最後，史密斯女士回複了一張她剛剛在家裏安裝的新架子的照片。
“麥卡錫是誰？我不知道
“我甚至不知道，”38 歲的羅斯瑪麗·沃森 (Rosemary Watson) 說，她是亞利桑那州梅薩市的一名注冊無黨派人士。梅薩市是一個戰場州，在過去兩次選舉中，民主黨以微弱優勢戰勝了特朗普式的共和黨。“我特意為自己的健康和福祉做出了這樣的選擇。”
沃森女士是切羅基族的一員，她在 2020 年投票支持特朗普，她說拜登總統為保護美洲原住民的神聖土地或提供數十億美元的新部落資金而采取的行動並沒有讓她在政治上受到影響。她說，她將在 2024 年的總統競選中支持小羅伯特·F·肯尼迪，以撼動兩黨製。
亞利桑那州吉爾伯特的簿記員惠特尼·史密斯 (Whitney Smith) 表示，她不想參與華盛頓的任何政治動蕩。圖片來源：紐約時報的 Adriana Zehbrauskas
辛西婭·泰勒現年 58 歲，是休斯頓地區的一名共和黨律師助理，她的丈夫在一家步槍製造商工作。她對麥卡錫先生的下台和最近的近乎停擺感到震驚，稱這種邊緣政策是美國社會越來越不守法的表現。
“我們似乎開始走上這樣的道路，如果我不同意你的觀點，我就會把你踢出去，”她說。“每個人都是為了自己。每個人都是為了自己 15 分鍾的出名。”
皮尤研究中心 7 月份進行的一項調查發現，一個國家因對政治領導人的不滿而團結在一起，這種不滿跨越了種族、年齡和黨派分歧。65% 的受訪美國人表示，他們一想到政治就感到精疲力竭。
隻有 16% 的美國成年人表示他們信任聯邦政府，接近 70 年來民意調查的最低水平。近 30% 的人表示他們不喜歡民主黨和共和黨，創曆史新高。然而近年來，美國人投票人數創下了曆史新高——主要是為了連任現任者。
眾議院少數黨領袖哈基姆·傑弗裏斯在國會勉強避免關閉前的新聞發布會上發表講話。圖片來源：Kenny Holston/紐約時報
“我從未想過我會生活在這樣的時代，”新罕布什爾州多佛市 66 歲的寡婦辛迪·斯瓦西說。斯瓦西女士曾兩次投票支持特朗普總統，但她認為自己是獨立人士。她說，在本周的動亂中扮演核心角色之前，她曾經喜歡眾議員馬特·蓋茨以及他為國會注入的更新、更年輕的活力。
她最近決定不再觀看未來的總統辯論。
工薪階層和中產階級美國人的工資最近有所上漲，但許多人表示，與不斷上漲的生活成本相比，漲幅微不足道。從汽車行業到醫療保健行業再到好萊塢，成千上萬的工會工人通過罷工來爭取更好的合同。
“現在，我隻想著回去工作——想辦法養家糊口，有房子住，給車加油，”麥金利·邦迪克說，他是哥倫比亞廣播公司節目《海豹突擊隊》的編劇助理，在美國作家協會罷工期間失業了五個月。
幾名民主黨選民表示，他們對美國政治現狀的厭惡源於特朗普那種憤怒的不滿和煽動 1 月 6 日騷亂者的選舉謊言。與此同時，一些人表示，他們害怕特朗普和拜登再次競爭，寧願快進到下一屆總統選舉周期，找一個——任何人都可以——新人。
“這就是你們能從兩黨給我們的最好結果嗎？你在開玩笑嗎？” 49 歲的芝加哥科技產品專家約瑟夫·阿爾巴尼斯 (Joseph Albanese) 表示，他在 2020 年投票支持拜登，但正在考慮完全不參加明年的選舉。
對於生活在與國會大廈完全不同海岸的人們——尤其是年輕選民——華盛頓的失調可能看起來像是遙遠世界中聳人聽聞的內鬥。
“這讓人不知所措，發生了很多事情，”住在南洛杉磯瓦茨社區的 28 歲的迪奧娜·比蒙 (Dionna Beamon) 說。“所以真的，無知是福。”
發型師比蒙女士說，她和她的朋友更關心心理健康等問題。她的母親不到兩年前死於心髒病，她一直在努力解決悲傷。
“我覺得現在很多人都很沮喪，”她說。“這對我這個年齡段的人來說是一個很大的話題。新冠疫情爆發後，世界已經不一樣了，疫情爆發時，我們才 20 多歲。 ”
霍華德大學大四學生 Vivian Santos-Smith 想成為一名政治學家，但對政治內鬥感到沮喪。“現在看來，《紙牌屋》就是現實，”她說。圖片來源：Jason Andrew 為《紐約時報》供圖
21 歲的霍華德大學大四學生 Vivian Santos-Smith 表示，她最擔心的是畢業後必須開始償還的 10,000 美元學生貸款債務。拜登總統本周取消了 90 億美元的學生貸款債務，但他取消約 4000 億美元債務的更廣泛努力卻失敗了
由最高法院裁決。
她想成為一名政治學家，她麵臨的第一個挑戰就是試圖理解這一時刻。
“現在看來，《紙牌屋》就是現實，”她說。“前景黯淡。”
Corina Knoll、Jacey Fortin、Robert Chiarito 和 Darren Sands 對本文亦有貢獻。
Jack Healy 是駐鳳凰城的全國通訊員，專注於西南部快速變化的政治和氣候。他曾在伊拉克和阿富汗工作，畢業於密蘇裏大學新聞學院。
J. David Goodman 是休斯頓分社社長，負責報道德克薩斯州。自 2012 年以來，他一直為《紐約時報》撰寫有關政府、刑事司法和金錢在政治中的作用的文章。
Jenna Russell 是《紐約時報》駐波士頓的新英格蘭分社社長。
Alan Blinder 是《紐約時報》的全國通訊員，負責報道教育。自 2013 年加入《紐約時報》以來，他曾在 35 多個州以及亞洲和歐洲進行報道。
How Do Americans Feel About Politics? 'Disgust Isn't a Strong Enough Word'
Voters' broad discontent with disarray in Washington transcends political parties, race, age and geography.
Bianca Vara, a vendor at a market in Chamblee, Ga., is displeased with leaders in Washington, D.C.Credit...Kendrick Brinson for The New York Times 1963
By Jack Healy, J. David Goodman, Jenna Russell and Alan Blinder
Jack Healy reported from Gilbert, Ariz., J. David Goodman from Houston, Jenna Russell from Bangor, Maine, and Alan Blinder from Chamblee, Ga.
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Oct. 6, 2023
Whitney Smith’s phone buzzed with a text from her mother, alerting her to the latest can-you-believe-it mess in Washington: “Far right ousted the House speaker. Total chaos now.”
Ms. Smith, 35, a bookkeeper and registered independent in suburban Phoenix, wanted no part of it. She tries to stay engaged in civic life by voting, volunteering in local campaigns and going to city meetings. But over the past week, the pandemonium of a narrowly averted government shutdown and leadership coup in the Republican-controlled House confirmed many Americans’ most cynical feelings about the federal government.
“It was just like, Oh God, what now?” she said.
Griping about politics is a time-honored American pastime but lately the country’s political mood has plunged to some of the worst levels on record.
After weathering the tumult of the Trump presidency, a pandemic, the Capitol insurrection, inflation, multiple presidential impeachments and far-right Republicans’ pervasive lies about fraud in the 2020 election, voters say they feel tired and angry.
In dozens of recent interviews across the country, voters young and old expressed a broad pessimism about the next presidential election that transcends party lines, and a teetering faith in political institutions.
The White House and Congress have pumped out billions of dollars to fix and improve the nation’s roads, ports, pipelines and internet. They have approved hundreds of billions to combat climate change and lower the cost of prescription drugs. President Biden has canceled billions more in student debt. Yet those accomplishments have not fully registered with voters.
A small group of hard-right Republicans drove the country to the brink of a government shutdown, then plunged Congress into chaos when they instigated the vote that, with Democratic support, removed Mr. McCarthy. Democrats are betting that voters will blame Republicans for the trouble. Many voters interviewed this week said they viewed the whole episode as evidence of broad dysfunction in Washington, and blamed political leaders for being consumed by workplace drama at the expense of the people they are meant to serve.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy leaving the House floor after being ousted as Speaker of the House.Credit...Maansi Srivastava/The New York Times
“They seem so disconnected from us,” said Kevin Bass, 57, a bank executive who lives in New Home, a rural West Texas town. He serves on the local school board and has two children in public school, and another in college. He describes himself as conservative who voted for former President Donald J. Trump both times. “I don't really look at either party as benefiting our country,” he said.
Voters said that Washington infighting and the Republicans’ flirtation with debt default and government shutdowns recklessly put people’s paychecks, health care and benefits at risk at a moment when they are preoccupied with how to pay rising health care and grocery bills, or to cope with a fast-warming climate unleashing natural disasters in nearly every corner of the nation.
“Disgust isn’t a strong enough word,” said Bianca Vara, a Democrat and grandmother of five in the Atlanta area who runs a stall at a flea market that crackles with discussions of politics.
She said she wanted leaders in Washington to address gun violence, or maybe just meaningfully crack down on the robocalls she gets. Instead, she watched with dismay as the Republican-controlled House was convulsed with an internecine melee.
“It’s worse than in elementary school,” she said, “Like a playground, like dodge ball: ‘You’re out! You’re not the speaker anymore! Hit him in the head with a red ball!’”
Several people said they purposely tune out political news, focusing instead on details like the price of cream cheese ($6.99), or matters wholly unconnected to politics — the Chicago Bears are 1 and 4, and Taylor Swift is showing up at Kansas City Chiefs games.
When Ms. Smith’s mother texted the news of Kevin McCarthy’s ouster as House speaker to the family text message chain, nobody responded. Eventually, Ms. Smith replied with a photo of new shelves she had just put up at home.
“Who’s McCarthy? I don’t even know,” said Rosemary Watson, 38, a registered independent in Mesa, Ariz., a battleground state that has narrowly elected Democrats over Trump-style Republicans in the past two elections. “I’ve purposely made that choice for my own health and well-being.”
Ms. Watson, a member of the Cherokee Nation, voted for Mr. Trump in 2020 and said she did not feel politically moved by actions President Biden has taken to conserve land sacred to Native Americans or to provide billions of dollars in new tribal funding. She said she would support Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the 2024 presidential race as a jolt to the two-party system.
Whitney Smith, a bookkeeper in Gilbert, Ariz., said she did not want any part of the political turmoil in Washington. Credit...Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times
Cynthia Taylor, 58, a Republican paralegal in the Houston area whose husband works for a rifle manufacturer, was aghast at the ouster of Mr. McCarthy and the latest near-shutdown, calling the brinkmanship a symptom of growing lawlessness in American society.
“We seem to be starting to go down the line of, if I don’t agree with you, I’m going to kick you out,” she said. “Everybody is out for themselves. Everybody is out for their 15 minutes of fame.”
A survey that the Pew Research Center conducted in July found a country united by a discontent with their political leaders that crosses race, age and partisan divides. Sixty-five percent of Americans polled said they felt exhausted when they thought about politics.
Only 16 percent of American adults said they trusted the federal government, close to the lowest levels in seven decades of polling. Nearly 30 percent of people said they disliked both the Democratic and Republican parties, a record high. Yet in recent years, Americans have turned out to vote in record numbers — mostly to re-elect incumbents.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaking at a news conference before Congress narrowly averted a shutdown.Credit...Kenny Holston/The New York Times
“I never thought I’d live in times like this,” said Cindy Swasey, a 66-year-old widow in Dover, N.H. Ms. Swasey, who voted twice for President Trump but thinks of herself as an independent, said she used to like Representative Matt Gaetz and the infusion of newer, younger energy he had brought to Congress — before he played a central role in the turmoil this week.
She has recently decided to skip watching future presidential debates.
Working-class and middle-class Americans have seen their wages rise lately, but many say the gains pale in comparison with the rising cost of living. Thousands of union workers, from the automotive industry to health care to Hollywood, have voted with their feet by striking for better contracts.
“Right now, it’s just been about getting back to work — figuring out how to put food on my plate and keep a roof over my head and put gas in my car,” said McKinley Bundick, a writer’s assistant for the CBS program “SEAL Team” who was out of work for five months while the Writers Guild of America was on strike.
Several Democratic voters said their revulsion with the state of American politics was rooted in Mr. Trump’s brand of angry grievance and the election lies that stoked the Jan. 6 rioters. At the same time, several said they were dreading the prospect of another contest between Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden, and would rather fast-forward through the next presidential cycle and find someone — anyone — new.
“This is the best you can give us from both parties? Are you kidding me?” said Joseph Albanese, a 49-year-old technology product specialist in Chicago who voted for Mr. Biden in 2020, but is considering skipping next year’s election altogether.
For people living on an entirely different coast from the Capitol — especially younger voters — Washington’s dysfunction can seem like sensational infighting in a distant world.
“It’s overwhelming, it’s a lot going on,” said Dionna Beamon, 28, who lives in the Watts neighborhood of South Los Angeles. “So really, ignorance is bliss.”
Ms. Beamon, a hair stylist, said she and her friends were more concerned about issues like mental health. Her mother died of a heart attack less than two years ago and she has grappled with how to address her grief.
“I feel like a lot of people are depressed now,” she said. “That’s a huge topic for my age group. The world hasn’t been the same after Covid, and when it started, we were in our early 20s. ”
Howard University senior Vivian Santos-Smith wants to be a political scientist, but is dismayed by political infighting. “It seems as if ‘House of Cards’ is reality now,” she said.Credit...Jason Andrew for The New York Times
Vivian Santos-Smith, 21, a senior at Howard University, said her biggest concern was the $10,000 of student debt she would have to start repaying after graduation. President Biden canceled $9 billion in student loan debt this week, but his wider efforts to cancel some $400 billion more were scuttled by the Supreme Court.
She wants to be a political scientist, and one of her first challenges is trying to make sense of this moment.
“It seems as if ‘House of Cards’ is reality now,” she said. “The outlook is just bleak.”
Corina Knoll, Jacey Fortin, Robert Chiarito and Darren Sands contributed reporting.
Jack Healy is a Phoenix-based national correspondent who focuses on the fast-changing politics and climate of the Southwest. He has worked in Iraq and Afghanistan and is a graduate of the University of Missouri’s journalism school. More about Jack Healy
J. David Goodman is the Houston bureau chief, covering Texas. He has written about government, criminal justice and the role of money in politics for The Times since 2012. More about J. David Goodman
Jenna Russell is The Times’s New England bureau chief, based in Boston. More about Jenna Russell
Alan Blinder is a national correspondent for The Times, covering education. He has reported from more than 35 states, as well as Asia and Europe, since joining The Times in 2013. More about Alan Blinder
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