The problem is that most small government advocates are not actually working towards small government, but just towards a government that does what they want it

The problem is that most small government advocates are not actually working towards small government, but just towards a government that does what they want it to do. Or they use it as a general catchphrase to abuse the slightly schizophrenic attitude of most voters, who want less government spending in the abstract, but will actually favor more (or equal to current) government spending when asked about individual programs or departments of government.