Or you're just incorrect. People "starving the beast" aren't generally the cronies. The cronies like the beast. They are part of the beast.

"Starve the beast" is an American conservative slogan and strategy.

American conservative politics is absolutely ridden with corruption, obstructionism, and cronyism.

Again, just because someone claims that they are incorruptible and only looking out for your best interests, it doesn't mean they actually are.

Conservative isn't the same as libertarian. Libertarians vote for Conservatives because they're the closest thing they've got, to my understanding.

If they have a choice between people who overtly want to move more power to the state, and those who say they don't but sometimes do, they're going to pick the latter.