Being a United States senator can be a cushy(轻松的，安逸的) gig, if you hail from(来自，出生于) a state where your party has the decisive advantage and you like to talk a lot. Cast your votes as the leader of your caucus(党团会议；党团) directs; don’t leave any space for a primary challenger to your right (if you are a Republican) or to your left (if you are a Democrat); and materialise regularly on Fox News or MS Now(定期现身于福克斯新闻或MS Now), respectively, to rant(咆哮，痛骂) about the other party. Then sit back, watch the donors’ dollars roll in, and look forward to your golden years in what was once known as the world’s greatest deliberative body, and has become its finest nursing home.(然后你就可以高枕无忧，看着捐款滚滚而来，安享晚年——这个机构曾被称为世界最伟大的议事机构，如今却成了最顶级的养老院。)
在美国当参议员可以是个轻松差事——只要你来自本党占绝对优势的州，而且你本人又爱滔滔不绝。按党团领袖的指示投票；别给右翼（如果你是共和党人）或左翼（如果你是民主党人）的初选挑战者留下任何空间；再定期出现在福克斯新闻或MS Now上，痛骂对方政党。然后你就可以高枕无忧，看着捐款滚滚而来，安享晚年——这个机构曾被称为世界最伟大的议事机构，如今却成了最顶级的养老院。
Some senators are inclined to work a lot harder than that, of course. And at least one, Susan Collins, a Republican, has had no choice. Since 1997 she has represented a state, Maine, that has not voted for a Republican for president since 1988. She is among the last of a vanishing breed(正在消失的群体) who share their state with a senator from a different party, in her case Angus King, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats. So-called split delegation(分裂代表团)s were once common. At least 20 states, and as many as 27, had split delegations from 1969 through to 1994, and as recently as 2013 there were 18 such odd couples(奇怪组合，不般配的搭档), who generally learned to collaborate(合作，协作) in their state’s interest and sometimes even the country’s. Now there are just four, the fewest since direct election of senators began in 1913—and that includes Vermont, where the split is between Peter Welch, a Democrat, and Bernie Sanders, who, as an independent, is a Democrat but only more so.(如今只剩下4个，是1913年参议员直选开始以来最少的——其中还包括佛蒙特州，那里的分裂发生在民主党人彼得·韦尔奇和无党派的伯尼·桑德斯之间，后者作为独立人士，是民主党人，但比民主党人还民主党。)
当然，有些参议员倾向于比这努力得多。至少有一位——共和党人苏珊·柯林斯——别无选择。自1997年以来，她代表的缅因州自1988年起就再未在总统选举中投给共和党人。她属于一个正在消失的群体：与本州另一位来自不同政党的参议员共享代表权。她的搭档是无党派的安格斯·金，后者与民主党人结盟。所谓的“分裂代表团”曾经很常见。从1969年到1994年，至少有20个、最多达27个州拥有分裂代表团；直到2013年，还有18对这样的“奇怪组合”，他们通常学会为本州利益、有时甚至为国家利益合作。如今只剩下4个，是1913年参议员直选开始以来最少的——其中还包括佛蒙特州，那里的分裂发生在民主党人彼得·韦尔奇和无党派的伯尼·桑德斯之间，后者作为独立人士，是民主党人，但比民主党人还民主党。
This is a harder-to-fix result and cause of polarisation(两极分化) than the gerrymandering(杰利蝾螈：操纵选区划分以利于本党) of House seats. Instead of politicians picking their voters by sorting them into congenial(合意的，适宜的) districts, Americans are sorting themselves into states by party and, as all politics has become national, splitting their votes less often. Ms Collins has bucked the trend through assiduous(勤勉的，一丝不苟的) constituent service(选区服务), bringing federal projects to the state and setting the all-time record for most votes cast—more than 10,000—without missing a roll call(点名投票).
与众议院选区的“杰利蝾螈”相比，这种现象更难解决，也更是两极分化的成因。政客不再通过把选民划入合意的选区来挑选选民，而是美国人自己按党派“分类”到各州；随着所有政治都全国化，他们越来越少分裂投票。柯林斯女士通过勤勉的选区服务逆势而行：为缅因州争取联邦项目，并创下投票次数最多的历史纪录——超过1万次——且从未缺席过一次点名投票。
Woodsman, spare that trope!
伐木工，饶了那个套路吧！