Yes, in the 1970s-1980s the GOP came up with the idea of "starve the beast" [1] which allowed them describe unfunded tax cuts and deficit spending as "fiscally conservative", like a parent taking away a child's allowance.

Complete nonsense in practice, obviously - but political gold! Voters get all the same public services, lower taxes, and to think they're being responsible with money. And if you're a 65-year-old legislator, you'll be dead and buried before the consequences start to bite.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starve_the_beast

Running up massive debt and deficits is also a way to kill appetite for D priorities that require new spending.

The best way to make sense of the GOP is in it's opposition to wealth redistribution. Primarily downward wealth redistribution. That's their north star.

Upward redistribution is mostly OK though, they consider it just giving rich people their own money back