[E419]Greenback from the dead
本文音频及原文摘自杂志The Economist 2016年第20期，United States版块。
Zombie campaigns
Presidential campaigns raise funds long after they cease to function
May 14th 2016
KIM CLAUSEN of Denver[丹佛(美国城市)], Colorado[科罗拉多州], made a $250 contribution to the presidential campaign[总统竞选] of Republican Senator[共和党参议员] Marco Rubio[马可·卢比奥] on March 16th. Thetransaction[交易;事务;办理] was, for the most part, unremarkable. Indeed, Ms Clausen had made identical[相同的] contributions in each of the previous six months. Her latest gift, however, would differ in one key respect. Itsdesignated recipient[指定受益人/接收者], Mr Rubio, had suspended his campaign the day before.
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Ms Clausen is not alone. Since September, the Federal Election Commission[联邦选举委员会] (FEC) has recorded hundreds of contributions to presidential campaigns whose candidates are no longer in the race. In all, zombie campaigns have raised about $1m. Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin[威斯康星州], leads the pack[1], having raked in[2] more than $700,000 since his withdrawal from the primaries in September. Lindsey Graham, who quit in December, has since raised about $70,000.
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注释
[1]lead the field/pack/world
to be better than all other people or things 在该领域／群体中／世界上领先
Their scientists lead the world in nutrition research.
他们的科学家在营养研究方面居世界前列。
[2]rake in
to earn or get a large amount of money 轻易赚（很多钱）；赚大钱
He rakes in over £100 000 a year.
他一年能挣十多万英镑。
She's really raking it in (= making a lot of money).
她真赚大钱了。
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Fundraising[筹款;资金募集] of this sort is perfectly legal under FEC rules. Candidates who suspend their campaigns can continue raising money long after they have left the trail[1]. A campaign technically ends only once it has retired its debts[2] and filed a termination report[3] with the FEC. For most candidates, this will not happen soon. FEC records show that as of March 31st, the failed Republican presidential campaigns had debts of nearly $5m. Mr Rubio alone owes nearly $2m. Lincoln Chafee is the most indebted[负债的;感激的;受惠的] Democratic ex-candidate: he owes $360,000.
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注释
[1] trail
You can refer to all the places that a politician visits in the period before an election as their campaign trail. (竞选巡回宣传) 路线
[2]retire a debt 退回债款
[3]file a termination report 递交终止报告/总结报告
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Democrats[民主党(人)] may be tempted to[忍不住;受诱惑做] chide[1] their Republican counterparts for their profligacy[2]. They should recall that in 2008, after a long and bitter primary campaign, Hillary Clinton was left with over $22m in unpaid bills.Those debts would not be paid until January 2013, more than four years later.
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注释
[1]chide [tʃaɪd]
to speak to someone severely because they have behaved badly 责骂，呵斥，训斥
She chided him for his bad manners.
她训斥他没有礼貌。
[2]profligate ['prɒflɪgət]
wasteful with money 恣意挥霍的，浪费的
She is well-known for her profligate spending habits.
她因一贯恣意挥霍钱财而出名。
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以上言论不代表本人立场。
原文摘自The economist，仅外语学习之用。
其中生词解释来源于Cambridge Dictionaries
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