Lincoln believed in government of, by, and for the people. We the People empower the Constitution. Representative government, representative of the people, is our democracy.
Yet some wish to drown government in the bathtub. "Small government" is the catch phrase opposite "government takeover".
All of which delights the moneyed interests who created and nurtured such sentiment, knowing that the smaller the government, the less representation for the People.
When the People let a vacuum be created in their government, the moneyed interests are more than happy to take over that representation for them.
And now we have GOP backed, corporate funded lobbyists posing as grassroots populist movements in order to usurp the People's power.... Astroturfing it's called.
And of course, conservatives just go along for the ride, since these groups promise (HA!) to protect their guns, bibles, and fetuses.