To say that dems believe in big government ot repubs believe in big government is splitting hairs.
Politicians believe in big government.
Politics is their game and government is their forum.
The bigger the government, the more important they feel.
Don't expect any politician to seriously want to reduce the size of fovernment.
Don't expect any politician to seriously want to reduce the size of fovernment. Calvin Coolidge was a professional politician who believed in small government. So was William Howard Taft. So was Grover Cleveland. So were most ante-bellum Democrat presidents (e.g., Buchanan, Pierce, Van Buren).
How do you explain people like them?