For McCain, the 'Right' Friends

Despite his primary losses over the weekend, John McCain is still the GOP's presumptive presidential nominee. But as the candidacy of Mike Huckabee lingers, so too does the perception among some conservatives that the senator from Arizona can't be trusted to carry the banner for their issues. Prominent conservative tax activist Grover Norquist has had his share of fights with McCain, mostly visibly over the senator's past reluctance to make the Bush tax cuts permanent. But Norquist has been one of the first high-profile activists to say he would support McCain against any Democrat in the fall. He spoke to NEWSWEEK's Seth Colter Walls about why their relationship has improved (despite McCain's failure to take Norquist's "taxpayer protection pledge") and how the senator can mend relationships with the rest of the conservative movement. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: So if you can support John McCain …
Norquist: Wait, I haven't endorsed John McCain. I haven't endorsed anybody. I will endorse the Republican nominee, who I expect to be McCain.

OK, but in a climate of unease on the right, you're making what amounts to positive noises on his behalf. Just a couple years ago the two of you were at odds. When did that start to change?
About a year ago Sen. McCain and I ran into each other, and he talked about wanting to abolish the AMT [Alternative Minimum Tax]. I said, "You're not going to be able to," but I gave him a series of suggestions of how to go about doing that halfway. He asked for a memo on the subject, which I gave him. As a senator he has taken our taxpayer protection pledge.

But not as a presidential candidate.
He did in 2000.

Though not this year.
Right. I mean, the question … one could argue that when you pledge not to raise taxes that's not a "sometimes" project. But he has not taken the pledge a second time as a presidential candidate. We would like him to take it again.

So what gives you confidence that his recent positions on taxes can be depended on over the long term?
Well, in 2005 he endorsed the Bush tax cuts. As I said on [former Massachusetts governor Mitt] Romney's behalf, I want to know if people are moving in my direction. I'm not interested in long discussions about where they were five years ago. The Roman Catholic Church wants converts. They don't say, "Hey, 10 years ago …" you know? … When McCain put out his 25 percent corporate tax rate, his full expensing for business investment—which would be about a trillion dollar tax cut over 10 years—and he called for abolishing the AMT, and making the Bush tax cuts permanent, we put out statements [on his behalf]. So on the tax issue he has moved very hard and far, and I believe convincingly, because he's picked the [tax cuts] most likely to move, even with Democrats running one or both houses [of Congress]. He has twice on TV now said, "I will veto any tax increase." This was his "read my lips" moment.