以史为鉴，民主党暂且放弃弹劾特朗普

Democratic congressional leaders have, for the time being, ruled out pursuing impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.

民主党国会领导人暂时排除了弹劾川普总统。

The decision by Democratic congressional leaders to pass on impeachment seems to be mindful of recent history, especially the Republican-led impeachment effort against President Bill Clinton in 1998.

民主党国会领导人做出这一决定似乎是留意到了近些年的历史，特别是1998年共和党领导的对克林顿总统的弹劾。

In announcing her opposition to impeachment, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said simply that Trump “wasn’t worth it.”

众议院议长佩洛西在宣布她反对弹劾的立场时表示，这只是因为川普“不值得弹劾。”

Pelosi is sticking to her position despite pressure from liberal activists.

尽管受到自由派活动人士的压力，佩洛西仍然坚持自己的立场。

“Impeachment is a divisive issue in our country, and let us see what the facts are, what the law is, and what the behavior is of the president,” Pelosi recently told reporters at the Capitol.​

佩洛西最近在国会大厦对记者表示：“弹劾在我们国家是一个造成分裂的议题，让我们看看事实是什么，法律是什么，还有总统有怎样的行为。”

For President Trump, the idea of impeachment is, not surprisingly, a non-starter.

对川普总统来说，弹劾的想法毫无疑问是行不通的。

“Well, you can’t impeach somebody that is doing a great job. That is the way I view it,” Trump said when asked about the issue in January.

川普在一月份被问到这个问题时表示：“你不能弹劾一个工作做得很好的人。这就是我的看法。”

Recent polls show most voters do not favor impeachment at this time.

近期的民意调查显示，大多数选民此时并不支持弹劾。

Given that the 2020 election cycle is underway, Democrats may prefer to have the voters try to oust Trump during next year’s election, according to George Washington University analyst Matt Dallek.

乔治城大学的分析师马特·达莱克表示，考虑到2020年选举周期正在进行当中，民主党可能更愿意让选民在明年的选举中赶走川普。

“By the time impeachment proceedings were even to ramp up, you are talking about the end of 2019 or early 2020,” Dallek told VOA this week. “That creates its own complication because there is another remedy for removing a president and it is called the election.”

达莱克说：“到弹劾程序接近尾声的时候就已经到2019年末或者2020年初了，这自身就带来了复杂性，因为还有另一种换总统的方式，那就是选举。”

Democrats clearly recall what happened to Bill Clinton in 1998. Clinton lied about and tried to cover up his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky, which led to his impeachment by the House. Clinton remained in office after he was acquitted in a trial in the Senate.

民主党人清楚地记得1998年发生在克林顿身上的事情。克林顿撒谎并试图掩盖他和实习生莱文斯基的婚外情，导致他被众议院弹劾。克林顿在参议院的审判中被宣判无罪并得以留任。

Republicans paid a price for the Clinton impeachment, losing five House seats in the 1998 midterm elections.

共和党人为弹劾克林顿付出了代价，在1998年的中期选举中失去了5个众议院席位。

Some analysts predict that President Trump could face renewed calls for his ouster depending on the findings of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

一些分析人士预测，川普总统可能再次面临要求他下台的呼声，这取决于特别检察官穆勒关于俄罗斯干涉2016年选举的调查结果。

“I think if the Mueller report indicates some serious wrongdoing by the president and his campaign, it really empowers Democrats to begin deliberating how to move forward with impeachment proceedings,” said Brookings Institution scholar John Hudak.

布鲁金斯学会的约翰·胡达克表示：“我认为，如果穆勒的报告显示总统及其竞选活动存在严重的不法行为，那么民主党人就会开始考虑如何推进弹劾程序。”