Black Republicans Few in Number, But Strong in Convictions
美黑人共和党人仍坚定支持麦凯恩

　 
The crowd at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota last week was described as a sea of white faces by some reporters. The number of African Americans in attendance was significantly down from the 2004 Republican convention. And most black voters this year are supporting Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama, who is the son of an African father and a white American mother. But black Republicans are solidly behind their candidate - John McCain.

美国一些记者形容上个星期在明尼苏达州圣保罗举行的共和党全国代表大会是一片白面孔的海洋。跟2004年的共和党代表大会比较，非洲裔美国人参加今年共和党大会的人数明显减少，今年多数黑人选民都支持民主党的总统候选人奥巴马，他的父亲是非洲人，母亲是美国白人。但是，黑人共和党人还是坚定支持共和党候选人麦凯恩。

Around 25 percent of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver last month were African Americans and candidate Barack Obama has enjoyed strong support from blacks across the nation.

上个月民主党人在丹佛举行全国代表大会，大约百分之25的代表是非洲裔美国人。在美国，奥巴马受到黑人的鼎力支持。

By contrast, black participation at the Republican Party, or GOP, convention last week was minimal. Only 36 of the 2,380 delegates were black, down from more than 100 at the 2004 convention.

相比之下，上星期参加共和党代表大会的黑人却非常少。2380位代表中，只有36名是黑人。比2004年共和党大会的100名黑人代表少了很多。

Although he is not African American, one of the Republican Party's fastest rising stars is Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, whose parents came from India. His skin color and his ability to appeal to voters of all races has put him front and center in the Republican effort to attract more minorities. He was scheduled to make a major speech at the convention, but ended up canceling his visit because of Hurricane Gustav, which struck his state last week.

在共和党内，崛起速度最快的明星之一是路易斯安娜州的州长金德尔，金德尔的父母是印度人。他的肤色和他对各族裔选民的号召力使金德尔成为共和党吸引更多少数族裔支持的努力的中心人物。金德尔原计划在全国代表大会上发表重要讲话，但是古斯塔尔飓风上星期飓风袭击了他的州，使他被迫取消了到圣保罗赴会的计划。

Blacks and other minorities who did attend the GOP event described themselves as fiercely loyal Republicans who stand by their ideals in spite of criticism from members of their own communities who see Obama's candidacy as a historic opportunity.

那些出席了代表大会的黑人和其他少数族裔人士说，他们坚决忠于共和党，这个党代表他们的理想，虽然少数族裔社区有人批评共和党。这些批评者把奥巴马取得候选人资格看成是一次历史的机遇。

Many of black Republicans cite moral convictions as a reason for rejecting a person of their race who has already made history by winning a major party's presidential nomination.

许多黑人共和党人把道义信念作为拒绝一名黑人同胞的理由。奥巴马已经因为赢得一个美国主要政党总统候选人提名而创造了历史。

Gale Sayers, a black Republican from San Antonio, Texas, has strong views about Barack Obama.

塞耶斯是一位来自德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥的黑人共和党人。他对奥巴马有强烈的批评。

"There are many reasons, one of the big ones would be his stance on abortion. He [says] it is above his pay grade to tell us when a baby or a person has human rights. That is really weird." he said.

“我有许多原因反对他，其中一个重要原因是奥巴马在堕胎问题上的立场。奥巴马说，他没有权力告诉我们，生命从什么时候开始，从什么时候开始享有人权。这实在是很古怪。”

John Colon of Florida, a leader of the National Black Republican Association, says he has little in common with Barack Obama other than skin color.

佛罗里达州的科伦是全国黑人共和党协会的领导人之一，他说，除了肤色相同之外，他跟奥巴马没有什么共同之处。

"If Barack Obama had a proven track record and shared my values, I would be looking to vote for him as well. But he does not. That is the main point. He does not share my values," he said.

他说：“如果奥巴马有经过验证的政绩，如果他和我有共同的价值观，我会选他。但是他没有。这是主要问题。他和我的价值观不同。”

Colon says his religious beliefs require him to reject abortion and favor policies that promote morality and strengthen families. He also rejects the Democratic Party's stand on such matters as education and national defense.

科伦说，他的宗教信仰要求他反对人工堕胎，支持促进道德、加强家庭的政策。他也反对民主党在教育和国防方面的立场。

Colon says John McCain has proven his leadership and shown that he can work with Democrats to form consensus.

"Everybody knows that he is a maverick and that he can build consensus across the aisle. I have seen no bills that Barack Obama has built consensus with or reached across the aisle and worked with the other side," he added. "We all know that, in Washington, if you are not willing to compromise and reach across the aisle, you get gridlock."

Another prominent black Republican at the convention was former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele, who has become a well-known figure on radio and TV political talk shows.

另一位出席大会的著名黑人共和党人是马里兰州前任副州长斯蒂尔。他现在是广播和电视的政治访谈节目的常客。

Steele acknowledges the advantage Democrats have this year with blacks now that they have an African-American presidential candidate, but he says his party can compete for those votes in the years ahead.

斯蒂尔承认今年民主党人在争取黑人支持方面有优势，因为他们提出了一位非洲裔的总统候选人。但是他说共和党未来也能够争取少数族裔的选票。

"We have to get our act together sufficiently to be competitive and effectively engage the black vote, the Hispanic vote, the white vote, every vote in this country with a values message - an empowerment message, an ownership message that resonates with communities," he said.

他说：“我们要想有竞争力，要想有效的吸引黑人选票、拉美裔选票、白人选票，要争取美国的每一票，就必须发出能够说服各个社区的价值观信息、所有制的信息。”

How successful Republicans will be in their effort to attract blacks and other minorities to their cause may depend on how the November election plays out. Some prominent black conservatives have announced their support for Barack Obama and, analysts say, it will be difficult to counter what is viewed by many people of all races as an opportunity to heal old racial wounds and unite the nation.

共和党人究竟能否成功的吸引黑人和其他少数族裔支持他们的事业，可能要看11月大选的结果如何。有些保守派黑人名人已经宣布支持奥巴马，分析人士说，许多来自各个族裔的人士把奥巴马看成一个愈合长期的种族创伤、团结全国的机遇，要抗拒这个机遇将是很困难的。

Republican leaders say they remain committed to attracting more minorities to their fold. But many of them admit that this is probably not the year in which they will make much progress.

共和党领导人表示，他们仍然致力于吸引更多少数民族裔。但是也有很多共和党人承认，在这方面他们今年可能不会取得很大进展。