Given that the US Government hasn't been reduced since the 1789 reformation into the current Constitution and Union; I don't see how that logic ever plays out i

Given that the US Government hasn't been reduced since the 1789 reformation into the current Constitution and Union; I don't see how that logic ever plays out in actuality. States Rights were destroyed in the Civil War and economic activity transferred to the Federal Reserve before WW1 and the first income tax levied over a hundred years ago. Why would anyone think "keep the gov. small" is ever a good faith argument?