NO NO NO NO NO - limited government can only occur when the population is both free and virtuous and they thereby limit the power of government. Your equation is government central and therefore NOT AT ALL NOT AT ALL NOT AT ALL what the Founders intended. WE, not THEY, have to keep them in CHECK because the Founders KNEW they would not.
The burden of virtue is on US, NOT the elected folks.
Of course the burden is on us, but if we don’t put a virtuous person in power, nothing will happen.
That is why recognizing that virtue is important is... well, so important.
If we, as voters, don’t think that virtue in an elected official will lead to smaller government, then we will continue to discount the importance of virtue, and we will never get smaller government.
You can’t have smaller government until you have virtuous men in power.