It's popular until the Republicans say you're going to have to wait in line or it will somehow increase your taxes (or better yet: "this means your hard-earned dollars will go to the bottom surgery of an immigrant trans person who will participate in women's sports and use the women's bathroom!").

Then everyone drops it like a hot potato.

You have to remember for Americans, they love being given free stuff, but the second they hear someone they don't like is also getting the free stuff, they'd rather cut off their nose to spite their face. They voted for Trump not because they like him, but because they hate the left.

The way Americans vote doesn't correlate with what they want. When the rich want something, they engage with the established systems to work towards their goal. When the people want something, they tend to ignore the systems that are made specifically to hear their voices, and do everything but use them. Then the system works as intended, and everyone's surprised.
We can't really blame an average American, they're overworked, uneducated, solitary, angry, dumb, and confused. But it is what it is.