Please note the distinction between "govern" and "rule."
The Democratic Party is not seeking to rule. They are seeking to have the government do its damn job.
The Republican Party is seeking to rule, but not govern: that is, they get to be in charge, but they take no responsibility for anything that happens under their rule. (Most especially Trump and his administration; Congressional Republicans are a bit less of the former and a lot more of the latter.)
The Republican aversion to governing is a very new thing.
Like, sure, the "government small enough to drown in a bathtub" philosophy is not particularly new, but the idea that Republicans in Congress should actively oppose any and all attempts to make government function at a basic level? That the executive should be actively dismantling his entire branch?
None of that is even old enough to vote.
If what you say were true, then it would have happened back under GWB.
The Democratic Party is not seeking to rule. They are seeking to have the government do its damn job.
The Republican Party is seeking to rule, but not govern: that is, they get to be in charge, but they take no responsibility for anything that happens under their rule. (Most especially Trump and his administration; Congressional Republicans are a bit less of the former and a lot more of the latter.)