Then why do they keep on voting for politicians who are in favor of expanding government?
Big government started with FDR and no one noticed. Why the sudden alarm?
All politicians are out to increase the size of government just like you would like to see it happen to your employer.
Only term limits would limit the size of governmental growth.
Because there is an increasing fraction that sees socons as in favor of "big government," meaning that they can't do whatever they want to somebody else's kids. They don't understand the socon concern that broken families produce customers for the welfare police state.
We vote for the politicians who will represent us. Those politicians then go to Washington, where they are surrounded by people who use the government for personal gain, whether they are mainstream media, special interest lobbyists, or Democrats. They are emotionally abused by those who own the power structure in Washington (e.g. constantly being battered with lies like "the war on women").
In short, Republicans going to Washington are afflicted with the Stockholm syndrome. Stockholm syndrome can be seen as a form of traumatic bonding, which does not necessarily require a hostage scenario, but which describes “strong emotional ties that develop between two persons where one person intermittently harasses, beats, threatens, abuses, or intimidates the other.” They may not have shared liberal "values" when they were elected, but adopt those "values" as a form of emotional self-protection.
We need term-limits. We also need to minimize the amount of time politicians spend in Washington exposed to that toxic and hostile environment. Keep them at home, where they have constant reminders and emotional support from the people who elected them.