The government shutdown is the work of the so-called kamikaze caucus

Question

The government shutdown is the work of the so-called kamikaze caucus of about 40 Tea Party Republicans in the House of Representatives. But why is the body of the Republican Party in thrall to its erratic right foot? Maybe the real blame should go to the far more numerous non-Tea Party Republicans (moderate), who have been unable or unwilling to restrain the radicals. Behind this question lies another. Why are Republicans unwittingly repeating the errors of a previous generation of moderate Republicans who elevated Newt Gingrich to party leadership? It was Gingrich who pioneered the political dysfunction the USA still lives with. His actions - particularly his move to shut down the government in 1995 and 1996 - undermined popular trust and ushered in the present political era of confrontation and obstruction.

But here’s the catch: Gingrich, of Georgia, rose to party leadership because he was the preferred candidate of the moderates themselves. They even sided with him against Robert H. Michel of Illinois, the House minority leader from 1981 until 1995, who, in his civility and willingness to cooperate with Democrats, embodied the moderate’s political sensibility and asked his fellow House Republicans to be “responsible participants in the process.” The problem for Republicans was that playing a “responsible” role appeared to consign them to permanent minority status. As moderates came to believe that nothing was to be gained from cooperating with Democrats, they became more receptive to Gingrich’s argument that the way to dislodge the entrenched majority was to polarize the electorate while attacking Congress as an irredeemable and illegitimate institution.

Moderate Republican voters, governors, and financial backers will be horrified if the present confrontation leads to a constitutional crisis or global economic meltdown, but they have scant influence over the radicals in the Tea Party caucus. And many of them fear that launching a direct challenge to the radicals would send the party back 40 years in the political wilderness, particularly as the party’s demographic base continues to shrink. The Republican Party won’t change course until the Gingrich strategy for winning House elections stops working.   1 
 1. The passage suggests that the author of the passage believes which of the following?

A. In mid 1990s, cooperating with the Democrats would push the Republicans to permanent minority.
B. The ongoing political crisis will make the moderates realize they are overpowered by Republicans.
C. The Republican Party is highly reluctant in bringing about any changes in its present way of functioning in the government. 
D. In last 40 years, Democrats have not been so erratic to push the country to the brim of economic meltdown.
E. A strong political stand by moderates can bring the current political crisis of the country to a conducive end.

2 
 2. The primary purpose of the passage is to

A. The passage enumerates the reason for the current political turmoil and alludes to the possible outcome of this crisis.
B. The passage highlights the current political fiasco and delves into the historical events to establish its beginning.
C. The passage brings forth the mistakes the moderates Representative did in the past and are reaping results in the present.
D. The passage reveals though historic examples that political blunders have long-lasting effects on the economy.
E. The passage talks about how a dominant political party can thwart even the noble moves of the governing party.

3 
 3. According to the passage, what can be understood of “the body of the Republican Party”?

A. The phrase refers to the moderate Republicans who do not enjoy the same political standing they used to some six decades ago.
B. The phrase refers to the group of Republicans that includes the moderates as well as the radicals.
C. The phrase points to the supporters of Newt Gingrich, who supported him against Robert H. Michel.
D. This body is independent of any political group in its ideology and support to the governing party.
E. The group consists of important political and }nancial dignitaries who have considerable influence on the Republicans.

GittinGud · Answer

Official Explanations:

1. The passage suggests that the author of the passage believes which of the following?

A. In mid 1990s, cooperating with the Democrats would push the Republicans to permanent minority.

INCONSISTENT: This is not what the author believes in.

B. The ongoing political crisis will make the moderates realize they are overpowered by Republicans.

OUT OF SCOPE: This cannot be inferred at all from the passage.

C. The Republican Party is highly reluctant in bringing about any changes in its present way of functioning in the government.

CORRECT:  The last sentence of the passage substantiates this point.

D. In last 40 years, Democrats have not been so erratic to push the country to the brim of an economic meltdown.

OUT OF SCOPE: There is no mention of Democrats taking any decision.

E. A strong political stand by moderates can bring the current political crisis of the country to a conducive end.

OUT OF SCOPE: The moderates have no influence on the Tea-Party Republicans, let alone any strong political stand.

Answer: C.

2. The primary purpose of the passage is to

A. The passage enumerates the reason for the current political turmoil and alludes to the possible outcome of this crisis.
B. The passage highlights the current political fiasco and delves into the historical events to establish its beginning.
C. The passage brings forth the mistakes the moderates Representative did in the past and are reaping results in the present.
D. The passage reveals though historic examples that political blunders have long-lasting effects on the economy.
E. The passage talks about how a dominant political party can thwart even the noble moves of the governing party.

Para 1 - concern over current political crisis in the US questions ;the role of moderate republicans in this shutdown ; moderates repeating the error started by Gingrich

Para 2 - Presents past event to illustrate how Gingrich came to leadership and what was his policy

Para 3- Moderates have no influence on Republicans who continues to follow Gingrich

A. CORRECT 
B. PARTIAL SCOPE: Author highlights current political fiasco but does not talk about historical events to show that the fiasco started in the past. 
C. PARTIAL SCOPE: Passage presents mistake they did in the past but does not say if they are reaping any results in the present. 
D. OUT OF SCOPE: This is certainly not the purpose of the author. 
E. OUT OF SCOPE: This is certainly not the purpose of the author.

Answer: A.

warrior1991 · Answer

arvind910619

I will try to explain question no 2.

B. The passage highlights the current political fiasco and delves into the historical events to establish its beginning.  
 Option B is not correct because it misses out the information mentioned in paragraph 3 . Para 3 says that if the republican party do not adopt Gingrich strategy ,it would send the party back 40 years in the political wilderness, particularly as the party’s demographic base continues to shrink.

A. The passage enumerates the reason for the current political turmoil and alludes to the possible outcome of this crisis.  
 The key information mentioned in the Paragraph 3 is mentioned in this option.

Clearly A is preferable over B because option B doesn't comprehends the information of Para 3.

The main point of the passage always encompasses every information from all the paragraphs.

warrior1991 · Answer

GittinGud

1. The passage suggests that the author of the passage believes which of the following?

A. In mid 1990s, cooperating with the Democrats would push the Republicans to permanent minority.
 Cannot infer.The problem for Republicans was that playing a “responsible” role appeared to consign them to permanent minority status.It was not because of cooperating with the Democrats.

B.The ongoing political crisis will make the moderates realize they are overpowered by Republicans.
  Out of Scope.

C.The Republican Party is highly reluctant in bringing about any changes in its present way of functioning in the government. 
 Correct. Clearly mentioned in last few lines of the last paragraph.

D.In last 40 years, Democrats have not been so erratic to push the country to the brim of economic meltdown.
 Nowhere mentioned in the argument.

E. A strong political stand by moderates can bring the current political crisis of the country to a conducive end.
 Irrelevant to the context of the argument.

Reva22 · Answer

Can someone explain the 3rd question?

guddo · Answer

3. According to the passage, what can be understood of “the body of the Republican Party”?

The passage contrasts the “kamikaze caucus” of Tea Party radicals with the larger group of non-Tea Party Republicans.  The phrase “body of the Republican Party”  refers to the broader Republican Party that is being influenced by its extreme  right wing .

(A) The phrase refers to the moderate Republicans who do not enjoy the same political standing they used to some six decades ago.

This is too specific and partly unsupported. The passage does discuss moderate Republicans, but it does not say “six decades ago” or focus on their former political standing in that way.

(B) The phrase refers to the group of Republicans that includes the moderates as well as the radicals.

This is correct. The “body” of the party means the Republican Party more broadly, while the “erratic right foot” refers to the Tea Party radicals. So the phrase points to the party as a whole being pulled by its radical wing.

(C) The phrase points to the supporters of Newt Gingrich, who supported him against Robert H. Michel.

This is too narrow. The Gingrich example is used later as historical comparison, not as the meaning of “the body of the Republican Party.”

(D) This body is independent of any political group in its ideology and support to the governing party.

This is not supported. The passage is specifically about factions inside the Republican Party.

(E) The group consists of important political and financial dignitaries who have considerable influence on the Republicans.

This is incorrect. The passage later says moderate voters, governors, and financial backers have little influence over the Tea Party radicals.

Answer: (B)

egmat · Answer

Hi Reva22,

The whole question turns on one metaphor in paragraph  1 , so let's read that line closely:

"But why is the  body  of the Republican Party in thrall to its  erratic right foot ?"

The author is picturing the party as a single  body . The "erratic right foot" is the small group the sentence just named - the "kamikaze caucus of about  40  Tea Party Republicans." So the  foot  = the radicals, and the  body  = the entire party organism that this little foot is dragging around.

A body includes its foot. So "the body of the Republican Party" means the  whole party  - the numerous non-Tea Party (moderate) Republicans  and  the radical Tea Party members together. That is exactly what  B  says.

Why the tempting wrong answers fail: 
-  A  - "the moderate Republicans" only. Too narrow. The body isn't just the moderates; it's the whole party being controlled by the foot.
-  C  - "the supporters of Newt Gingrich." That's from paragraph  2  and isn't what this phrase points to.
-  D  and  E  - bring in ideas (independent ideology; financial dignitaries) the phrase never touches.

A quick way to feel it

Try this everyday version first:

"Why is the whole  team  being held hostage by one hot-headed  player ?"

Does "the whole team" mean just the calm players, or everyone - including the hot-head? Everyone, of course. The team is the full group; the player is the part causing trouble. Map that straight back: the  body  is the full party, the  foot  is the  40  radicals. That's why  B  is correct.

Answer: B

The government shutdown is the work of the so-called kamikaze caucus

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The government shutdown is the work of the so-called kamikaze caucus

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