Critical Reasoning

Politician: Critics of wetlands-protection bill are delaying passage of this important legislation merely on the grounds that they disagree with its new more restrictive definition of the term “wetlands.” But this bill will place stricter limits on the development of wetlands than the existing regulations do. Therefore, in quibbling over semantics, critics of this bill show that they care little about what really happens to our wetlands.
The politician’s reply to the opponents of the wetlands-protection bill is most vulnerable to which one of the following criticisms?
(A) It falsely identifies the motives of those who have criticized the wetlands-protection bill with the motives of all those who are opposed to conservation.
(B) It does not adequately recognize the possibility that the definition of the word “wetlands” determines the impact of the legislation.
(C) It assumes without justification that those who criticized the wetlands-protection bill stand to profit if the bill is defeated.
(D) It fails to provide a defense for a less restrictive definition of “wetlands.”
(E) It attempts to defend the credibility of the author of the bill rather than defending the bill itself.