Politician: It is important for members of the State Assembly to

Question

Politician: It is important for members of the State Assembly to remember that Governor Norman’s proposed new state thruway was part of her platform during her landslide re – election campaign last year. This means that if the thruway plan is defeated, its opponents will have much to answer for in next November’s State Assembly elections.

The politician’s argument relies upon which of the following assumptions?

A. Many of those who voted for Governor Norman oppose the thruway proposal.

B. The thruway proposal is likely to be defeated by the State Assembly.

C. Many of those who voted for Governor Norman supported the thruway proposal.

D. Everyone who voted for Governor Norman last year will vote in the State Assembly elections.

E. Those members of the State Assembly who oppose the thruway proposal do not have valid reasons for opposing it.

This is a  CR Butler Question

Check the links to other Butler Projects:

Data Sufficiency Butler  
  Problem Solving Butler  
  Sentence Correction Butler  
  Reading Comprehension Butler  
  Integrated Reasoning Butler

Krunaal · Answer

The politician is suggesting that opponents of the thruway plan will face consequences in the next election because the proposal was a part of the governor's re-election platform. The argument relies on the assumption that the voters who supported Governor Norman in the election also supported the thruway proposal.

(A) This weakens the argument because it suggests that a significant portion of the governor’s supporters actually oppose the proposal. This would make it less likely that opponents of the proposal would be punished in the next election.  INCORRECT

(B) While this suggests a possible outcome, it doesn’t address the assumption about why opponents would face consequences. This doesn't strengthen or support the politician's argument.  INCORRECT

(C) This strengthens the politician's argument because it assumes that the voters who supported the governor also supported her platform, including the thruway proposal. If many voters supported the proposal, it makes sense that opponents of the proposal would face political consequences in the next election.  CORRECT

(D) This is too extreme. While voter turnout might matter, the argument doesn’t depend on everyone who voted for the governor voting again; rather, it depends on whether those who supported the thruway proposal will vote and hold opponents accountable.  INCORRECT

(E) This is irrelevant. Whether or not opponents have valid reasons doesn't impact the assumption that voters who supported the governor's proposal will hold its opponents accountable.  INCORRECT

Answer C.

Abdelaali91 · Answer

A. Knowing that many of those who voted for Governor Norman oppose the thruway proposal does not have to be true in order for the argument to work. This somehow weakens the support for the conclusion, though we don't really know what percentage of voters for the governor opoose her thruway plan.

B. This is not an assumption made in the passage. It strengthens the argument.

C. Yes this is an assumption necessary for the argument to hold. If we negate it, the argument would fall apart.

D. No impact on the argument.

E. Whether rason for opposing the plan are valid or not is irrelevant to the question.

prantorboni · Answer

Politician: It is important for members of the State Assembly to remember that Governor Norman’s proposed new state thruway was part of her platform during her landslide re – election campaign last year. This means that if the thruway plan is defeated, its opponents will have much to answer for in next November’s State Assembly elections.

Presumption: Members of the State Assembly to remember Governor proposed thruway was part of her platform during election campaign last year. If the thruway plan is defeated, opponents will have much to answer for in next elections.

The politician’s argument relies upon which of the following assumptions?

A. Many of those who voted for Governor Norman oppose the thruway proposal.  No information given regarding this

B. The thruway proposal is likely to be defeated by the State Assembly.  Out of Scope

C. Many of those who voted for Governor Norman supported the thruway proposal.  Nothing find inconsistent with the given information.

D. Everyone who voted for Governor Norman last year will vote in the State Assembly elections.  "Everyone" sounds annoying

E. Those members of the State Assembly who oppose the thruway proposal do not have valid reasons for opposing it.  No information given regarding this

Answer: C.

Bunuel · Answer

Kaplan Official Explanation

When the Governor won by a landslide, her platform included a thruway proposal. Based on this evidence, the politician concludes that if the thruway plan is shot down in the State Assembly, those responsible for its defeat will be in big trouble come election time.

The author assumes that the Governor won because her platform included a thruway proposal. But for all we know, the Governor may have won despite, not because of, the proposal. If the November threat to thruway opponents is real, it must be true that many of those who contributed to the landslide also support the project.

Choice (C) is a perfect replica of the paraphrase above. If, in fact, many who voted for Norman support the thruway, then the politician’s conclusion is surely reasonable — opponents of the thruway may be in hot water with the voters, at least over this issue.

Choice (A) is the exact denial of correct Choice (C). The fact that many of Norman’s supporters oppose the thruway would substantially weaken the politician’s argument.

Choice (B) goes beyond the scope of the argument by assessing the thruway proposal’s chances. The argument is based on the hypothetical “If it is defeated . . .” So even if it is not likely to be defeated, the threat may still be real should the defeat actually occur. The word if ensures that the chance of defeat plays no role in the validity of the argument.

Choice (D) is also not necessary to the argument. Even if not everyone who voted for the Governor last year votes in the State Assembly elections, enough of them may vote to cause trouble for thruway opponents — if those voters support the project.

Choice (E) is irrelevant to the argument. No matter what reasons the members of the State Assembly have for opposing the thruway, the Governor’s voters may not forgive them for a thruway defeat. Nothing regarding the validity of the opposition is required here.

The answer is C

VerbalBot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot: 

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

 This post was generated automatically.

Politician: It is important for members of the State Assembly to

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

Politician: It is important for members of the State Assembly to

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards