It’s no shock that Republicans don’t like to pay taxes – none of us do. What separates GOP partisans from the rest of us is our shared community values and an understanding that a well-monitored government can do good things for its citizens.

Common decency and an understanding that the least among us deserve a hand up are what defines most Americans. Sadly, those virtues do not extend to those running the partisan Wisconsin Conservative Digest (WCD).

WCD clearly lists that they are a 501-C3 organization. In plain speak, that means they filed for, and were granted, nonprofit (charity) status so that they would be exempt from paying taxes.

Foundation funding has been a staple of charities for years. Foundations donate money in the form of grants to charities and get the tax benefits of their donation. But what if a partisan organization qualified as a charity? If a foundation only has X amount of dollars to give out and someone on their board has a partisan loyalty, should the foundation get the tax benefits of donating to their partisan pals? Why should a homeless shelter or a food pantry have to compete with an organization like WCD for finite dollars?

Most Americans work hard and pay taxes. After paying their bills, many Americans give to charities in an effort to help the poor and disadvantaged. We know that money we donate to charities is not going to be taxed and that, when we donate a dollar, the poor benefit from a dollar’s worth of aid (less whatever administrative fee the charity needs to keep the doors open).

Perhaps it was my parochial school years that helped to instill in me the moral responsibility of helping to feed the hungry and clothe the poor. But, over the years, I’ve met many wonderful people with those same values who weren’t of the same faith and never went to parochial school. This is larger than faith and family – this is about shared community values. Most of us have them – sadly, WCD does not.

Using non-profit charity status as a tax-evasion tool erodes the principles of fair taxation. When a partisan organization like WCD is allowed to evade paying their fair share, the rest of us have to pick up the bill – or, more accurately, a larger bill than we otherwise would have had to pay had WCD paid their fair share. It’s like getting together for a few drinks after work and when the check comes, one coworker pleads poverty and says his wallet is empty so he suggests that everyone else should split the bill between them.

WCD Publisher Bob Dohnal makes his partisan loyalties obvious. His outspoken columns lambaste anyone who doesn’t goosestep to the GOP agenda. His involvement with the GOP shill group, Tosans for Responsible Government (loosely wed to the GOP shill group Citizens for Responsible Government) is nothing Dohnal hides. The most recent issue of WCD inviting only partisan Republicans to speak at an upcoming meeting clearly shows the stripes of WCD and Dohnal but his cronies deserve the right to exclude others from their meetings. However, Dohnal crosses the line when he expects his partisan activities to grant him special tax-exempt status at the expense of the poor.

At a time when our government struggles to pay for the war in Iraq while slashing funds for domestic and social needs, government officials are always looking for ways they can make ordinary citizens pay a little bit more even as businesses get more tax breaks. It is no secret that businesses already get tax deductions for things like phones, Internet services and even business lunches. Since many Americans already feel overburdened with the increased tax load they have to bear to pay for business tax breaks, voters are putting pressure on politicians to control their personal taxes. Since our campaign finance laws benefit big donors, and many of them are from the business sector, politicians don’t feel comfortable raising business taxes. This puts politicians between the proverbial rock and a hard place – pitting their voters against their campaign donors.

With the way our current political system is being run, there is little place to seek additional funds. Charities which have seen large cuts in the Bush years will continue to experience these cuts, but struggling to feed the hungry and clothe the poor is difficult enough without partisan organizations beating the drums for a piece of the charity pie. And that’s exactly what WCD is doing. Whether they’re simply avoiding taxes or whether they’re competing with other charities for scarce grant money, the poor are the ones who pay the price.

It’s time to reform our tax system to define who is and who is not eligible to get the tax benefits of a charity. When an organization like WCD is allowed to qualify for tax-exempt status, charities suffer. In the end, we all lose.