Journalist: In late 1994, the present government of the Republic of Bellam came into power. Each year since then, about thirty journalists have been imprisoned for printing articles that criticize the government. In 1994, under the old government, only six journalists were imprisoned for criticizing the government. So the old government was more tolerant of criticism by the press than the new one is.
Politician: But in 1994 only six journalists criticized the government, and now journalists routinely do.
The politician challenges the journalist`s argument by doing which of the following?