Reporter: A new campaign finance reform bill being considered by Congress would limit the amount of campaign contributions that political candidates can receive. However, a survey of candidates running for mayor, governor, and senate seats shows that not one of them favors the bill. Clearly, there is no desire among politicians to limit campaign contributions.

Which one of the following points out the flaw in the reporter’s argument above?

The views of candidates currently running for office do not necessarily represent the views of all politicians.

D. The views of candidates currently running for office do not necessarily represent the views of all politicians.

What points?

What is your answer?

The flaw in the reporter's argument can be pointed out by examining one of the basic principles of logical reasoning, known as the Fallacy of Hasty Generalization. This fallacy occurs when a conclusion is drawn based on insufficient evidence or a small sample size. In this case, the reporter is making the assumption that because not one of the surveyed candidates favors the campaign finance reform bill, there is no desire among politicians to limit campaign contributions. However, this conclusion is based on a limited sample of candidates running for only three specific positions (mayor, governor, and senate seats). It does not provide sufficient evidence to generalize the opinion of all politicians. Therefore, the flaw in the reporter's argument is the hasty generalization fallacy.