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AURORA, CO — Attempting to mollify his critics on the right, Sen. McCain declared today that he is against raising payroll taxes as a fix for Social Security.

“On social security, (Senator Obama) wants to raise Social Security taxes. I am opposed to raising taxes on Social Security. I want to fix the system without raising taxes,” McCain told about 200 workers today at a town hall meeting at the Wagner Equipment Co. headquarters.

McCain has taken incoming fire from fiscal conservatives, including the Club for Growth, in the last few days who argue that comments the Arizona Senator made over the weekend stating that he is leaving the door open to all fixes, including a tax increase, is in direct conflict with his pledge to not raise taxes.

“There is nothing that’s off the table,” McCain told ABC over the weekend. “I have my positions, and I’ll articulate them. But nothing’s off the table.”

At his town hall meeting today, McCain repeated that while he is opposed to a tax increase he still plans to engage in an open and “good faith” discussion with Democrats on how to solve the entitlement crisis.

“We need to sit down together my friends. You expect us Republicans and Democrats to sit down and fix social security so that future generations of Americans can have the same benefits that present day retirees have,” McCain added today.

So read his lips, no payroll tax increase? Well, not quite.

When asked if a McCain administration will veto any Social Security compromise that includes a tax increase, an adviser said that while McCain is opposed to raising taxes he is also not willing to predetermine the outcome of future talks.

However, it appears that his more explicit statement today pleased skeptics over at the Club for Growth.

“We are pleased to hear Senator McCain reaffirm his opposition to raising taxes, including Social Security taxes. When it comes to tax policy, we have no doubt that Senator McCain will be much better for economic growth in this country than Barack Obama,” said Nachama Soloveichik, a spokesperson for the group.

Not surprisingly, Democrats are still pushing the issue as a flip-flop.

“Despite a week of scrambling, McCain’s campaign still has failed to explain how both of those statements can be true,” writes the DNC’s Damien LaVera in his latest email to reporters.

After repeatedly going to war with Sen. John McCain for the last few years, it appears that the Club for Growth has declared a cease-fire.

“Senator McCain is the only candidate in this race willing to stand up for taxpayers,” said Club President Pat Toomey in a Wednesday press release—after years of lambasting the Arizona Senator. To be sure, he was referring to McCain’s stance on social security privatization–an area where the Club and McCain actually see eye to eye—but it is still the first pro-McCain press release in recent memory. (see full release after jump)

Toomey has previously compared McCain to Democrats, accused him of attacking the free market and said voters cannot trust him.

In a Wall Street Journal editorial he penned almost exactly one year ago, Toomey wrote:

“His vigorous opposition to the most pro-growth tax cuts in 20 years, and his outspoken pursuit of anti-growth and anti-free market policies in the realms of regulation, entitlement reform and campaign finance reveal a philosophical ambivalence, if not hostility, toward limited government and personal freedom. While Sen. McCain’s economic record is clearly mixed, a careful study demonstrates that even his pro-growth positions tend to be tainted by a heavy anti-growth undercurrent. This evidence, and the virulence of his rhetoric, suggest that American taxpayers cannot expect consistently pro-growth economic policies from a McCain administration.”