What Fiscal Conservatism?

I don't know why, but it still surprises me to read a sentence like this in The New York Times:

Mr. Gregg said that Republicans should focus on fiscal responsibility, which unites their party.

I understand a newspaper's desire to allow those quoted in its articles to speak for themselves without a running commentary. But still, to allow a statement like this to go unchecked?

It's a readily provable fact that the Republican Party is not "unite[d]" by the issue of fiscal responsibility. If anything, the party is united by fiscal irresponsibility, largely coming together in favor of a tax plan that would increase the deficit by $3.9 trillion over the next decade -- more than the cost of the stimulus, TARP and healthcare reform bills combined.

Might The Times mention something to this effect when a leading Republican tries to spin his party's deficit-loving ways as the exact opposite? One might think the answer to such a question would be yes. But apparently not.