经济学人下载:环境保护遭遇攻击

That is in part, presumably, because at the mid-terms last year the Republicans succeeded in portraying the Democrats’ plans to restrict emissions via a cap-and-trade scheme as an all-out assault on the economy, to great effect. John Shimkus, another Republican congressman, says Republicans will benefit again if environmental regulation remains a fraught issue next year. But Democrats like Mr Waxman argue that the Republicans are reading too much into their victory last year. Voters may put their immediate economic concerns ahead of more amorphous worries about global warming in the wake of the recession, he says, but they are still not willing to tolerate a broader assault on regulations that protect public health.

部分原因可能是，去年的中期选举中，共和党将民主党通过设立排放上限并对减少排放的企业给予经济奖励的方式限制温室气体排放的计划成功地描述成了“竭尽所能阻挠经济发展”。共和党议员John Shimkus说，如果环境管制问题明年仍然充满争议的话，共和党则会从中获益。Mr Waxman等民主党人则认为，共和党高估了他们去年的胜利。尽管经历经济衰退之后，比较于交错复杂的全球变暖问题，选民更倾向于关注当前经济问题；即使如此，选民仍然不会容忍对保护公共健康法规的大规模的抨击。

In short, both the Democrats and the Republicans think they have found a winning theme in the other party’s environmental policies. And they may both, in fact, be right. Most polling suggests that the environment is not a critical issue in the eyes of many voters. But talking about it is a great way to fire up activists and donors on both sides.

简而言之，共和党和民主党都认为对方的环境政策有可攻之处，并且都认为各自可以取得胜利。实际上，双方可能都正确。众多民意调查显示，环境问题在许多选民眼中并不是十分重要的问题，但是，仅仅谈论这个话题就可以刺激到双方的积极活动份子和捐赠人。