DJaiswal
What bliss it was to be alive. Ronald Reagan was ignoring the budget deficit, the Marines were booting Communists out of Grenada and the Chicken McNugget was first clasped between the thumb and forefinger of a delighted nation. As the mid-term elections approach, and with them the possibility of the Senate flipping from Democratic to Republican control, keep 1983 in mind. America that year was 77% white, a proportion that has since declined rapidly as a result of births to non-whites and immigration. That number, 77%, is also the share of votes cast by whites in 2010, the most recent mid-term election.____________
a) Demography does not translate neatly into politics.
b) When the presidency is up for grabs, many more Americans bother to vote.
c) Taken together, race and age help to explain why the Democrats face such a struggle in mid-term elections.
d) Racially, mid-term voters lag the changes in the voting-age population by about 20 years and the country as a whole by nearly 30.
I just can't get myself to understand what this passage is trying to say . Please help.
My few thoughts.
Firstly, for GMAT, there should be 5 choices and this one has just 4.
Secondly, related to para completion:
The paragraph is like a narration, like a father telling something to his son. The father is remembering his old times, and telling the political scene. Ronald Regan was..... Marines were.... McNugget was..... . Now, after the first line, he comes to the present situation that mid term elections are coming... then he again goes back to 1983 when 77% of population was white...
These are basically some evidences the argument is providing you. Now in 2010, the white people vote percentage in the mid-term elections is 77%, inspite of the fact that white people now DONT make up 77% of the population [a proportion that has since declined rapidly as a result of births to non-whites and immigration].
Now looking at answer choice:
a) Demography does not translate neatly into politics. --->
Irrelevant. Out of Scope. Nothing is mentioned in passage about this.b) When the presidency is up for grabs, many more Americans bother to vote. --->
Out of scope. Nothing is told about how many total americans vote or how many bother to vote as a whole.c) Taken together, race and age help to explain why the Democrats face such a struggle in mid-term elections. --->
Incorrect. Nothing is told about struggle faced by democrats.d) Racially, mid-term voters lag the changes in the voting-age population by about 20 years and the country as a whole by nearly 30. ---->
Correct. Since, mid term elections have 77% vote share of whites, they LACK the changes that voting population has undergone. In 1983, whites made 77% of voting population, however, now also they make 77% vote share.
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