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The problem with the idea of "small government" from the perspective of the Tea Party is that it's likely a pipe dream. What I can glean from the movement is that many are strict constitutionalists who would like low taxes lowered and a big budget balanced all during a severe recession.
Maybe they're along the lines of libertarians who'd like to see government be no more than an agent for upholding laws, building and maintaining infrastructure, and coordinating foreign policy and organizing the military to support it—but no more.
What you have there is small government, yes, but there are very few real-life examples of this kind of governance where it has worked on a long-term basis. It's like communism in a way; it looks good on paper, but....
I don't think most people would want the ultimate "small government"; I think instead people would rather see responsible government. The thing about Obama's spending that people should keep in mind is that a whole crapload of it is a short-term expenditure in the form of stimulus spending, and it was done on an emergency basis. How many conservatives took to the streets when Bush Jr. opened up the coffers and kicked them over post-9/11?
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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön
Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
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