In a debate on whether the town's weekly market should be shifted to a larger ground, one speaker said: 'This proposal was put forward by Mr Rao, who has twice failed to pay his own shop licence fee on time. There is therefore no reason to take the proposal seriously.' The speaker's response is weak chiefly because:

Whether the market should move to a larger ground depends on space, access and cost, not on the record of the man who suggested it. A late licence fee, however unattractive, gives no reason to think the proposal itself unsound, so the speaker has said nothing against it. The remaining options describe gaps that would not repair the response even if they were filled.