Well put, and a good statement of the real issue, I would say. Nevertheless, I was not contradicting that, at least not that I could tell. I did not state (or, at least in my mind, intend to imply) that Republicans were the cause of big government. My intention was merely to reflect on the fact that Republicans have traditionally been anti-big government, and to a large degree continue to sell themselves as such, when the reality is that current Republicans practice almost nothing that would suggest this.
I don't really see how stating this clouds the issue. It's already a given, to some extent, that Democrats would be expected to behave this way. I guess it just reinforces the fact that it's true for anyone, despite any claims to the contrary.