McCain refused to sign Grover Norquist's anti-tax pledge

Interesting considering Grover Norquist has endorsed McCain in the U.S. Senate primary over the vastly more conservative JD Hayworth. All presidential and federal candidates are asked to sign the pledge each cycle. McCain has only signed it once, in 2001 when running for president. Maybe that's because the rest of his record on taxes is terrible? Tax organizations regularly give him low ratings. His ratings with "Taxpayers for Common Sense" have averaged around 50-60% over the years, and even his ratings with Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform average only around 75% (dipping to a low of 55% in 2001).

From Human Events - 

He tells voters that he opposes all tax increases, but he won’t sign the Americans for Tax Reform pledge to “oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates for individuals and/or businesses.” When asked why in a Sept. 5, 2007, debate on Fox News, McCain said:

“Because I stand on my record, and my record is 24 years of opposing tax increases, and I oppose them, and I’ll continue to oppose them. . . . I don’t have to sign pledges. My record stands for itself. It’s very clear to the American people. I’ve been in this business a long, long time. But the point is that I voted against the tax cuts because there was no restraint in spending.”

Read the rest of the article, Let's Closely Examine McCain's Record

Doesn't look like much of an anti-tax record based on the reviews he's gotten over the years from the various anti-tax organizations. Don't get me wrong, I like Norquist a lot. He's done more for fiscal conservatism than almost anyone over the past 30 years. But he's endorsed the wrong person in this race.