In today’s legislative environment, hyperbole has become the substitute for thoughtful criticism or substantive policy debate. And the more exaggerated the claims, the more the media promotes it, especially if the hyperbole is directed at the current president.

But where does this leave the country? In a state of uncertainty, skeptical of both parties, and settled into a “wait and see” attitude when it comes to Beltway Republicans and Democrats and the Big Beautiful Bill. 

What we do know is that passage of the BBB will likely be the most important legislative event of the 119th Congress. That’s not hyperbole, whether you love it or hate it. Even using the reconciliation process to put a significant part of the Trump agenda in place, this was no small feat, given the GOP’s thin margins in the House and Senate.

From the Republican leadership’s vantage, this comprehensive legislation was a response to voters’ clear direction in the last election — an end to Biden-era policies and a new focus on lower inflation and higher wages so family budgets could recover from the economic policies of the previous four years. 

The central goal of the BBB was to get the economy moving again. The most important first step was to make the 2017 Republican tax cuts, scheduled to expire at the end of 2025, permanent. 

Here’s where recognizing past failures can prevent future ones. In the year after passage of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Republicans focused on issues like immigration rather than the benefits of this key legislation. Meanwhile, Democrats went into full hyperbolic mode, declaring the law did nothing for workers in order to give billionaires and corporations a tax break — all at the expense of health care, given the attempt to also repeal Obamacare. Sound familiar?

Republicans lost that debate and 41 House seats in the 2018 midterms. That failure still affects the current political environment.

But this time around, Republicans start from a stronger position. Although many voters initially were surprised at the possibility of a tax increase if the tax cuts expired, they understand that paying more in taxes will only make the impact of inflation even worse. 

In a recent Winning the Issues survey, we found that when voters were asked whether they believe “if nothing is done and Congress does not act, personal income taxes for most people will increase starting next year,” 67 percent of the electorate agreed, while only 15 percent did not. 

While Democrats predictably are trying to make this debate one of tax cuts for the rich versus health care, even a surface look at the numbers tell a different story.

Without passage of the bill, a married couple making the median family income of $80,610, would have seen their standard deduction cut almost in half, meaning that an additional $13,400 would now be taxable income. Additionally, everything above $24,300 (now including that $13,400) would be taxed at 15 percent instead of 12 percent. For these middle class taxpayers, it would mean a tax increase of $2,790 with no additional income to help pay for that increase. 

Under the 2017 tax cuts, a married couple making only $30,000 had no taxable income. If the BBB had failed, they would have had a taxable income of $13,400 at 10 percent, and a tax bill of $1,340. In our survey, people favored extending the 2017 tax rates to keep rates from rising by a 66-19 percent margin (favor-oppose). 

But the bill ended up being much more than keeping tax rates at the 2017 levels, with adds like no taxes on tips and overtime, tax breaks for seniors and small businesses and an increase in the standard deduction overall. Although reconciliation limited the bill, it also includes budget cuts and spending increases for defense and border security — all important items, but the electorate is still very focused on dealing with inflation. 

So, it’s not surprising to see that voters are basically undecided about the bill, with 33 percent favoring, 29 percent opposing and 38 percent undecided in a recent WTI survey. People don’t want a tax increase, but they are not sure what to do about the rest.

Not everyone is happy with the bill. Budget hawks didn’t get everything they wanted, and Democrats voted against it in lockstep, while the Senate parliamentarian tossed curveballs. Ultimately, to get the economy moving again, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune worked to ensure that the perfect would not be the enemy of the good. 

I have worked with a number of Republican speakers and Senate majority leaders, and this was one of the most complicated and difficult legislative situations I have seen. This team deserves great credit for getting the BBB over the finish line. 

The Democrats, however, don’t want to debate on its economic merit, so they have gone back to their old playbook, trying to change the electorate’s focus on the bill from taxes to health care. Since its passage, along with a supportive mediasphere, they have pushed an all-out barrage of misinformation, exaggeration and fearmongering about the bill’s impact, while the Republicans’ economic message has had to compete with everything from immigration controversies to military strikes and natural disasters, all of which are, not surprisingly, also blamed on Trump.

Democrats have focused their main attacks on what they claim are callous, cruel and devastating cuts to Medicaid in the BBB. Except that, in reality, there is no cut. If the bill hadn’t passed, the country would have seen a 59.6 percent increase in the cost of Medicaid over the next 10 years, or 35.4 percent factoring in inflation, according to my analysis of CBO numbers. Under the BBB, Medicaid funding will actually go up 30.3 percent by 2034. Factoring in inflation, the bill still increases the program’s budget by 6.1 percent, which for a program this large isn’t pocket change.

Admittedly, Republicans aren’t immune to hyperbole on occasion. But, simply put, voters want straight talk from both parties.

When it comes to the BBB’s role in the 2026 midterms, it all boils down to whether voters look at the bill through an economic lens or a health care lens, and that depends on how effectively the bill deals with inflation and gets the economy moving again. That’s not hyperbole.

David Winston is the president of The Winston Group and a longtime adviser to congressional Republicans. He previously served as the director of planning for Speaker Newt Gingrich. He advises Fortune 100 companies, foundations and nonprofit organizations on strategic planning and public policy issues, as well as serving as an election analyst for CBS News.