Walk down the street and ask folks two questions starting with: 1. Do you like the Republican Party's Senate health care bill? Then move on to: 2. Do you believe in Bigfoot? It's more likely they'll tell you yes to No. 2.
People really, really don't like the Senate health care bill known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). Even President Donald Trump, famous for his low approval ratings, is the most popular thing since sliced bread compared with the new piece of legislation that would leave an additional 22 million Americans uninsured by 2026, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. A new poll Wednesday from USA Today/Suffolk University found just 12 percent of Americans support the GOP's Senate bill crafted by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
That's a shockingly low figure. As pointed out by progressive pollster Bryan Bennett on Twitter, polls have found more people believe in the existence of the mythical Bigfoot. In 2013 Public Policy Polling, which conducts public surveys as well as polling for Democratic candidates, asked American voters about some of the top conspiracy theories. Here are some things that had higher levels of support (or belief) than the Senate health care bill.
-14 percent of voters believed in Bigfoot.
-15 percent believed pharma companies invented diseases to make a profit.
-13 percent believed then President Barack Obama was the actual anti-Christ.
-28 percent of voters believed a New World Order with a globalist agenda were set on taking over the world with authoritarian rule.
-21 percent said a UFO crashed in Roswell, New Mexico in the '40s and the government covered it up.
-15 percent believe the government and/or media puts mind-control technology in TV broadcast signals.
In case you were wondering, far more Americans believe that aliens exist than support the GOP's health care plan. A 2015 YouGov poll found 54 percent of Americans believed intelligent alien life exists. Even a pair of Trump's most baseless beliefs he espoused over the years are more accepted by Americans than the GOP health care plan. A 2016 YouGov poll, found 36 percent of voters believed former President Barack Obama was born in Kenya and 31 percent of voters thought vaccines caused autism, both of which are things Trump has claimed in the past.
As Newsweek noted Wednesday, the BCRA could prove one of the most divisive bills in history and, as currently written, is one of the most unpopular pieces of legislation ever. But the GOP can take solace in at least one fact: while just 12 percent of Americans support the BCRA that's still a higher percentage than the 4 percent of Americans who believe lizard people control the world through amassed political power.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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