If a candidate wanted to talk about the resurgence of fiscal conservatism, he wouldn’t find a more welcoming television program than Neil Cavuto on Fox. Marco Rubio makes the best of this opportunity, correcting a rare Cavuto mistake on polling to underscore the mainstream support for fiscal responsibility and a growing “leave us alone” sense from the American electorate. The election in 2010 will not hinge on which party has the best Democrats, Rubio says, but on Republicans who run on their principles of fiscal conservatism:

Marco Rubio probably benefits most from the surge in support from Republicans and conservatives around the nation for Douglas Hoffman in NY-23. George Pataki, a center-right Republican establishment figure, endorsed Hoffman yesterday, a watershed in that race, and a sign that the GOP establishment might finally be reckoning with their distance from solid fiscal conservatives like Rubio, Pat Toomey, and Hoffman, among others. Rubio has a similar argument against Charlie Crist that Hoffman has against Dede Scozzafava, and without a doubt the Senate race will have more importance than the special election in NY-23.

Time to wake up, GOP. The runaway Democratic Congress has given Republicans an opportunity to coalesce on the principles of fiscal conservatism and limited government — but the GOP has to field candidates who mean what they say this time. Rubio, Hoffman, and Toomey are people who mean what they say, and the Republican Party had better start looking for more like them.