ShmoopTube

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[ musical flourish ]

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And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by the Republican party,

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the stateliest get-together of the year.

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All right, first up - the excerpt.

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[ mumbles ]

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[ mumbling continues ] Contract with America.

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All right, and now the question:

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Which of the following historical events would undermine the promises

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made by the Republican party in its Contract with America?

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And here are the potential answers.

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[ mumbling ] Okay.

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Well, what exactly is this question asking?

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Well, the big takeaway from the Contract with America

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was that Republicans wanted

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"the end of government that is too big, too intrusive,

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and too easy with the public's money."

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So that means we need to figure out which answer wouldn't quite

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jive with the Republicans' plan.

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Would A - tax cuts for corporations - have

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undermined the promises made by Republicans in its Contract with America?

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Hmm. Well, the Republican party wanted a smaller, more efficient

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federal government, more transparency,

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and lower taxes, especially for business.

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So A seems quite apropos. How about B -

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cutting the federal deficit? Would that have aligned

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with Republican plans? Oh, you bet.

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Pundits argued that measures like cutting the deficit

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and relaxing regulations would have led to greater job growth

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and overall economic prosperity.

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That means that B and D are both out of the running.

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So the historical event that would have most undermined

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the Republicans' Contract with America must have been C -

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expanding the size of Medicare.

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Republicans believed that cutting taxes for corporations,

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reducing the deficit, and relaxing regulations for large banks

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would all lead to enhanced prosperity,

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rendering social safety nets like Medicare unnecessary.

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So the answer is C.

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Overall, Republicans were concerned about the growth of big government.

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Do you think they felt the same way about

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tall government? Hmm?

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Yeah, maybe.

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