"no one is advocating a complete halt of all government programs."
See the quote from Grover Norquist
"Our goal is to shrink government to the size where we can drown it in a bathtub. "
Grover is one of the leaders of the modern conservative movement. See here -
Grover Norquist - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
You cant have it both ways my friend. If you campaign and get elected on rhetoric that stresses the evil of ALL government then you cant turn around and complain when it comes back to bite you.