I addressed this topic almost three years ago, when I observed that
A fiscal conservative may be untroubled by budget deficits or obsessed with them; may want to raise spending or rein it in; and may want to raise taxes or cut them. “Fiscal conservative” now means so many things that it means nothing for certain. It’s a dream label for a politician: obscuring more than it reveals, it says to the vast majority of the electorate: Whatever you think, I agree.
I’m still sort of hoping that the taxonomy I created back then to explain the unbundled strains of “fiscal conservatism” will eventually catch on.
