中新网评：美国众议长选举“连续剧”暴露美式民主痼疾******
中新网北京1月9日电(蒋鲤)在15轮投票表决后，美国众议院议长选举这场“连续剧”终于落下帷幕，众议院共和党领袖凯文•麦卡锡最终成功当选第55任美国众议院议长。这是美国国会过去164年来耗时最久的一次议长选举记录，将美国“对抗式民主”的弊端暴露无遗。
资料图：美国众议院共和党领袖麦卡锡。中新社记者 沙晗汀 摄由于两党对立加剧、党派内斗、利益分配不均等因素，众议长选举陷入一场拉锯战。在此次众议长竞选中，美国民主党议员继续抱团，多轮投票中，一票不投麦卡锡，共和党右翼“强硬派”领头的约20人小团体也拒绝投票麦卡锡。
麦卡锡的当选之路一波三折，除了本人的“政治投机派”角色在国会不受欢迎外，与共和党内部政治分歧关系密切。
一方面，共和党党内反对者认为，麦卡锡对民主党态度过于软弱，无力对抗民主党控制的参议院和拜登政府，另一方面，因为共和党的多数优势微弱，党内一些影响力较小的派系的政治力量则被放大，有利于他们巩固自己的选票。
此外，党内反对者也认为，自己的选票没有换取更多利益，希望以此作为筹码换取麦卡锡更大的让步，比如让他们获得众议院重要委员会中的职务。
作为仅次于美国总统、副总统的政坛三号人物，众议院议长通常由众议院多数党领袖担任，选举几乎没有悬念。然而，麦卡锡此次为当选，不得不做出多个关键让步，其中可能包括恢复一项罢黜议长动议机制，使得众议长的权力被削弱，难以掌控众议院。
美国有线电视新闻网CNN称，麦卡锡在这场不合时宜的政治勒索中作出让步，这种绥靖政策只会让极端主义势力更加强大。
这场引发全世界围观的尴尬选举暴露出美国政治存在严重的对立和分化。在权力博弈思维的裹挟下，党派利益凌驾于国家和人民利益之上，美国两党相互拆台，陷入“为反对而反对”的无脑对垒。而即便是一党内，也会因为利益分配问题产生不同的小派系，相互对抗，选票变成了谋利益的工具。
从国会山骚乱到打破记历史记录的15轮众议长选举，“对抗式民主”让美国政治陷入瓶颈，长期对抗势必会让政客们丧失客观公正的判断能力，其政治阶层是否有能力治理国家也会引发质疑。
两党之争和党派内斗进一步放大了美国政治体制弊病，美国所谓的“民主”形象，让全世界大跌眼镜。鼓吹以选民利益为先的美式选举，变成了政客们利益置换的游戏，进一步彰显出美国“民主政治”日渐失能，不断极化的党争已使美国政治制度陷入死循环。
House speaker election reveals deep-rooted problems in U.S. democracy
(ECNS) -- The Republican leader Kevin McCarthy was elected as the 55th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives after 15 ballots. As the most grueling House speaker election in the past 164 years, the election has highlighted the defects of the country’s "confrontational democracy".
The election once reached a stalemate due to intense partisan strife, inner-party struggle among the Republicans, uneven distribution of interests, and more. Democratic Party members forged a close alliance, refusing to vote for McCarthy, while about 20 Republicans also declined to cast ballots for the GOP leader.
Except for his unpopular role as a "political speculator" in Congress, McCarthy’s hard-won election can be attributed to turmoil within the Republican Party.
On the one hand, opponents in the Republican Party believe that the GOP leader's attitude toward the Democrats is too weak to confront the Senate controlled by Democrats and the Biden administration.
On the other hand, the political power of some less influential factions in the Republican Party has been amplified due to the Party’s weak majority advantage in the House of Representatives, which is conducive to consolidating their ticket warehouses.
Meanwhile, these opponents believe that their votes failed to win them more benefits, hoping to use this as a bargaining chip for McCarthy's further concessions, such as getting them positions in important House Committees.
As the third political figure after the President and Vice President of the U.S., the speaker, by tradition, is the head of the majority party in the House of Representatives.
But McCarthy has made many concessions in order to bring the ultra conservatives along, involving what’s known as the “motion to vacate,” a mechanism by which members can force a vote to depose the speaker. The reported concessions will empower individual members at the expense of McCarthy’s sway as speaker.
CNN thought the concessions he made during this unseemly political shakedown would only make the extremist faction more powerful.
This embarrassing election, which has drawn global attention, exposed the serious opposition and polarization in American politics. Both Democrats and Republicans put their interests before that of the country and its people, attacking and opposing each other irrationally.
Besides, different factions arise within a single party and confront each other because of the distribution of interests. Votes have become a tool to win more benefits.
From Capitol riots to the House Speaker election with record-breaking ballots, "confrontational democracy" has become a bottleneck of American politics. Long-term confrontation will surely impede politicians to think objectively and fairly while their capacity of governing the country will also raise doubts among the public.
Both parties’ struggle and infighting among the Republicans have further amplified the defects of the American political system, with its "democratic" image shocking the world.
The U.S.-style election, which advocates putting voters' interests first, has become a game of interest exchange among politicians. In addition, it further demonstrates the malfunction of American "democratic politics" and the constantly polarized party struggle that has trapped the American political system into an infinite cycle.
台湾音乐人黄庆元：在乡愁中寻“根”****** 中新社北京1月29日电 题：台湾音乐人黄庆元：在乡愁中寻“根” 中新社记者 李雪峰 “人离开家就像树叶离开‘根’，回家过年是中国人的传统，也是中国人对‘根’的眷恋。”癸卯新春，台湾音乐人黄庆元在北京接受中新社记者采访如是说。 祖籍福建、生于台南眷村，黄庆元从小听黑胶唱片长大，求学时期开始组乐团唱摇滚，并尝试写歌。20世纪80年代，黄庆元进入唱片公司工作，成为台湾流行音乐鼎盛时期的见证者与参与者。歌手刘德华的《今天》、王杰的《爱得太多》等都是他的作品。张学友的《吻别》《祝福》，草蜢乐队的《宝贝对不起》等风靡一时的热门专辑也都出自他手。 在乡愁中寻“根” 从台南到高雄、台北，再从香港到上海、北京，回忆人生履历，黄庆元调侃自己一直在“漂泊”，几十年来与家人聚少离多。他说，也因此，乡愁成为自己音乐创作中一个重要的情感来源。 众多作品中，表达海峡两岸血脉相连的歌曲《把根留住》让黄庆元印象深刻。他在歌词中写道：“为了生活，人们四处奔波，却在命运中交错。多少岁月，凝聚成这一刻，期待着旧梦重圆……”他说，歌词创作灵感正是来源于春运。 黄庆元回忆，20世纪90年代初，出于工作需要，他经常往返于海峡两岸及香港。每逢年关，看到各地火车站人满为患。在没有高铁、不能网络购票的年代，人们肩扛大袋手提小包，彻夜排队只为买到一张回家的车票。 “那些场景让我非常动容，这种亲情很难用语言描述清楚。”黄庆元说，台湾的春运同样繁忙，虽然南北不过数百公里，但春节期间依然会出现大堵车。而当时自己无论多忙，也要在除夕之夜赶回家与父母团聚。 如今，虽然人们的出行方式更加多元，携带的行李也更为轻便，但对故乡的情感丝毫没有改变。“回家，是所有中国人对‘根’的眷恋，这个‘根’，便是血脉。”黄庆元说，正是出于这种感受，自己在一夜之间就完成了这首曲目的歌词创作。 意外“北上”扎根 谈及到北京发展的经历，黄庆元笑称“是个意外”：最初只是来帮朋友写歌，本想待很短一段时间，不料却接到了很多合作，不仅有单曲，还有影视剧主题曲、片尾曲、配乐等，时间逐渐被占满，于是留了下来，而这一待就是近20年。 创作之余，黄庆元在不少音乐类选秀节目中担任评委，还参与了不少两岸之间的音乐交流活动。在他看来，创作需要灵感，音乐需要碰撞，跨民族、跨地域、跨背景的交流有助于音乐发展。“年轻人勇敢迈出一步，站上更大舞台是好事。中华文化是一条大河，各条支流活络起来才能流得更远，否则很容易干涸。”他说。 父母离世之后，黄庆元与妻子更多选择留在大陆过春节。“亲人在哪里，哪里就是家。”他说，这些年结识的不少来自五湖四海的朋友，都曾向他们发出邀请。这对台湾夫妇也因此有机会在大陆各地过不一样的春节。 “除夕之夜，和志同道合的朋友们聚在一起聊音乐谈创作，吃美食看春晚，拉家长里短，也别有一番趣味。”黄庆元笑道，去年收到了成都朋友的邀请，今年除夕则不同以往，他和妻子从客人变成主人，六七位朋友在自己家中共聚。 年近七旬，黄庆元没有退休打算。他透露，春节过后不久，就将到祖籍地福建参加一场两岸交流活动，助推音乐事业发展。 继续搞创作、帮助年轻人、推动音乐发展等，黄庆元称自己还有很多东西可做。“人生还要更加努力地去交代，到哪一天没体力了，没法录音了，才会考虑停下来。”他说。(完) 吉好彩票地图 |
