By Phil Kabler, Charleston Gazette-Mail
How long can a political party remain in power when it consistently defies the will of a majority of voters?
That question came to mind again with passage of the wildly unpopular Budget Reconciliation Act (known as the Big Beautiful Bill), which polls have shown is deeply underwater with the American public.
A Washington Post poll, for instance, found that 42% of those polled oppose the bill, with only 23% supporting it — and that was the most positive of multiple national polls on the legislation.
That 35% of those polled had no opinion on the budget bill is not surprising in a country where, on Election Day 2024, the leading Google search was, “Did Biden drop out?”
The public’s distaste for the legislation is unlikely to improve as more people become aware of its myriad disastrous effects, particularly when millions of Americans (and hundreds of thousands of West Virginians) lose health coverage and food assistance, and as hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, grocery stores, wholesalers and farms begin to close or scale back operations.
