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Big government has become the United States of America’s boogeyman. From Colorado State University’s own Lory Student Center Plaza to the halls of Congress, many Republicans have been encompassing their political ethos in a three-word slogan attacking the institution they want to control: “Big Government Sucks.”

The belief is a cornerstone of American conservatism and has been for a long time, echoed clearly since the 1980s when former President Ronald Reagan proclaimed, “Government is the problem.”

Now, it’s hard to square that slogan with the current Republican Party. I mean, the GOP has recently introduced lots of legislation that takes away individual rights and freedoms. From bans on abortion and gender-affirming health care to massive increases in military spending, Republicans seem to have cozied up to “big government” in recent years.

So what exactly do conservatives mean when they say they want a small government? That’s the tricky part, according to CSU associate professor of political science Matthew Hitt.

“Small government literally would mean taxes should be lower and, correspondingly, the government should do less stuff,” Hitt said. “Whatever it might be, the things that government does.”

Now, being against “the things that government does” is a vague political position, and that’s intentional. By setting up the ill-defined straw man of “big government,” conservatives can pick and choose what government policies they want to attack at will.

Domink Stecula, an assistant professor of political science at Colorado State, seconded that notion. He said most people promoting the small government ideology are mostly doing it for show.

“Trump’s announcement and the subsequent Republican infighting perfectly represent the so-called small government movement. While voters and politicians may support the vague notion of smaller government and personal freedoms, those policies aren’t actually popular in practice.”

“I think the reason why (small government) continues to be something they talk about a lot is because it’s popular,” Stecula said.

Stecula said the meaning of “small government” has shifted since Reagan first brought it to prominence. While the term “small government” continues to poll well, it doesn’t hold the meaning it once did. While smaller government used to be about protection from federal intrusion, Stecula said it now means tax breaks for the wealthy and cuts to social welfare programs.

“(Small government) used to have some sort of coherent meaning for the Republican Party, but recently, the Republican Party has become more like right-wing populist parties in Europe or South America,” Stecula said. “It’s more about benefits for us but not for the others — for the outsiders, for immigrants, for minorities, for people who are not part of our kind of coalition.”

The internal inconsistencies and contradictions of the small government movement are beginning to fracture the Republican Party. For example, the ideas of cutting taxes, slashing Social Security and reducing foreign aid used to be the foundation of the Republican party platform.

In recent years, though, that’s begun to shift. In particular, former President Donald Trump recently took a bold stance against cutting the social safety net on Truth Social in a shocking endorsement of “big government” programs.

Trump’s announcement and the subsequent Republican infighting perfectly represent the so-called small government movement. While voters and politicians may support the vague notion of smaller government and personal freedoms, those policies aren’t actually popular in practice.

“People can relate to that and say, ‘We should tighten our belt as a country,'” Stecula said. “But then when you ask about the specific programs, they’re like, ‘Well not that one, and not that one,’ and that’s when rubber meets the road.”

Reach Dylan Tusinski at letters@collegian.com or on Twitter @dylantusinski.