Fiscal conservatism worked before the rise of the maverick neo-conservatives. Neo-conservatives now nothing of smaller government or being fiscally conservative. Look at how much Bush swelled are Federal deficit for crying out loud. Real republicans would try and use diplomacy rather than go straight to war, and would actually try to slim down the government instead of passing legislation for monster bureaucracies (homeland security). Yes, fiscal conservatism works when the person advocating such ideals is a fiscal conservative, to answer you question.