美利堅共和黨全面控制美國國會
Republicans have overwhelmed Democrats in sweeping election victories across the US to win a solid majority in the Senate and take full control of Congress for the final two years of Barack Obama’s presidency.
共和黨在美國中期選舉中大勝民主黨，穩穩贏得參議院多數席位。在巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)總統任期的最後兩年，共和黨已並完全控制美國國會。The rebuke to Democrats in Congress was reinforced by a wave of Republican victories in key governors’ races, in Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.
此外，共和黨還在幾個關鍵州的州長選舉中獲勝，包括佛羅里達、伊利諾伊、馬塞諸塞、馬里蘭、密歇根、俄亥俄以及威斯康辛，讓民主黨在國會的挫敗雪上加霜。
The Republicans also increased their majority in the House of Representatives, with the three results collectively giving the party a significant psychological boost after scarring defeats in the last two presidential elections.
共和黨在衆議院的多數席位也有所增加。這三項結果，讓經歷過去兩屆總統大選慘敗的共和黨，在心理上獲得巨大提振。
“We’re excited about what this night is going to bring the party,” said Reince Priebus, the head of the Republican National Committee. The party last held both houses of Congress in 2006.
美國共和黨全國委員會(Republican National Committee)主席雷恩斯•普瑞巴斯(Reince Priebus)表示：“我們對於今夜（美國時間）將帶給共和黨的結果感到興奮。”共和黨上一次奪得參衆兩院控制權是在2006年。Mr Obama, mindful that he will need to find ways to work with a Republican-controlled Congress, invited congressional leaders to a meeting in the White House on Friday, before he heads to Asia for eight days.
考慮到自己將需要設法與共和黨控制的國會合作，奧巴馬在啓動亞洲8日之旅之前，於上週五邀請國會領導人蔘加了在白宮舉行的一次會議。John Boehner, the Republican House speaker, said he was committed to working with Mr Obama, but struck a combative tone, calling on the president to disavow reports that he planned to launch “a ‘counterattack’ on the new majority.”
美國國會衆議院議長約翰•博納(John Boehner)表示，他將致力於與奧巴馬合作，但他的口吻有些不客氣，他呼籲奧巴馬否認有關他計劃對新的多數黨發動“反擊”的報道。Almost $4bn is expected to be spent on the midterm elections, a record amount, according to the Centre for Responsive Politics, the watchdog group, with Republicans spending slightly more than Democrats. The total includes nearly $1bn by outside campaign groups not formally attached to the candidates and parties.
監督機構美國政治研究中心(Center for Responsive Politics)稱，預計美國此次中期選舉花費將達到創紀錄的近40億美元，共和黨的支出略多於民主黨。其中包括與候選人和兩黨沒有正式關聯的外部競選組織花費的近10億美元。Mr Obama is suffering from the same kind of slump that has hurt many second-term presidents. Even though the US economy is growing at its fastest rate in a decade, wage and salary earners are not feeling the effects of the benefits.
和很多連任的美國總統一樣，奧巴馬在第二任期中也遇到了麻煩。儘管美國經濟正以10年來最快速度增長，但工薪階層認爲沒能分享經濟增長的好處。The White House has also come under fire for its faltering responses to the Ebola outbreak, Russian aggression in Ukraine and the Islamist militants of Isis, adding to voters’ sense of vulnerability in a dangerous world, say pollsters.
此外，民調機構顯示，美國政府因對埃博拉(Ebola)疫情、俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭以及“伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯蘭國”(ISIS)伊斯蘭激進分子的迴應不力而受到批評，這加大了選民在這個危險世界的脆弱感。
