but by the time it became legislation it was a shadow if itself and largely worthless.

I think that that is more reflective of the policital make up of the US government and how you can vote in a president with a mandate to do X but when it gets to the houses the legislation is watered down to get across the line.

In a two party system in Australia and the UK the platform that parties announce ends up being a lot closer to the original concept when passed into legislation as there is less negotiation needed.