You're raising a really important question. I may need to clarify here.
I believe economic conservatives, national defense conservatives, and social issues conservatives differ mostly in emphasis. It's a difference of degree, not of basic kinds.
I happen to consider myself in all three categories. In addition to being an evangelical Christian, I live and work outside Fort Leonard Wood where I moved after 9/11 to take a (civilian) job in Army Public Affairs, so I'm obviously a strong supporter of the military. While I'm not terribly interested in the nuts-and-bolts of fiscal policy, I own a business and I believe socialism is unbiblical because it is a form of state-sanctioned theft, so I'm an economic conservative as well though I don't usually describe myself in those terms.
I can think of lots of people who are trained economists in academia or government who know far more than me about fiscal policy, as well as lots of successful small and large business owners, for whom economic conservative issues are front-and-center on their priority list. Does that mean they're socially liberal? Not necessarily, and in this community, often they're conservative evangelicals or retired military personnel for whom national defense issues are extremely important.
I think a lot of Newt Gingrich supporters were primarily concerned about economic conservative issues or national defense issues. I think that concern was undergirding a lot of the objections to Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, as well as to George Bush's “compassionate conservative” emphasis.
I can respect that. I draw the line when somebody starts sounding like a libertarian whose focus is on free enterprise and wants a values-free form of conservatism.
As I've said a number of times over the last couple of days, Sodom and Gomorrah were doing well economically, too:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2013:10-15&version=KJV
Look what happened to them as a result of wickedness. Lot was the “economic conservative” of his day who chose the well-watered cities of the plain; Abram (later Abraham) was left with the dry pastures of the hills but the blessings of God, which in the long run were far more important. Lot had to be rescued twice, and ended his days living in abject poverty with his only progeny being the fruit of incest.
Those who seek the blessings of God without wanting to worship God end with neither.