Did you hear the one about United Sportsmen....can you believe this stuff?

Not only is the following $500,000 Republican payout to right wing activists an in-your-face giveaway to donors, but can you imagine what kind of deals are being made behind the scenes to even bigger players favored by our red state legislators. If they don't care about how this looks, with no blowback, skies the limit for the Walker Authority from here on in. 

This is just so wildly out there, with no plausible excuses given, I'm still on the amazed side:

jsonline: United Sportsmen of Wisconsin Foundation Inc., a group that claimed federal nonprofit status in winning a controversial $500,000 grant to promote hunting and fishing hasn't actually received that status yet ... showing it had misrepresented its tax status during the process of receiving a grant to promote hunting and fishing in the state. The DNR requested the letters from United Sportsmen, apparently following a Friday report by the Journal Sentinel that the group wasn't listed in federal and state registries of 501(c)(3) nonprofits.

United Sportsmen, a group with close ties to Republican politicians and other conservative organizations but a scant track record, applied for federal nonprofit designation on March 1 but has not yet received it. And the group has been denied a hardship request to speed up that process ... 

So could this group lie in it's application, a firing offense anywhere else, and still keep its job and credibility with our straight arrow Republicans?

Despite the misrepresentation, the DNR officially notified United Sportsmen in a letter Tuesday that it would be receiving the grant anyway, with $50,000 of it as an advance before receipts are filed. Rep. Al Ott (R-Forest Junction), chairman of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, was displeased the group had not been forthright with lawmakers and potential donors. "They misled and I'm disappointed about that," Ott said. 

As is typical with all Republicans, no response is necessary.

DNR spokesman Bill Cosh has not commented on whether the DNR has concerns about any possible misrepresentation by United Sportsmen about having received the federal designation. 

But wouldn't donors be surprised when they find out about their lack of tax exempt status:

Without the federal recognition, the group won't be tax-exempt, and its donors won't be able to deduct their contributions to United Sportsmen on their tax returns.

According to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin:

Suder’s resignation comes as questions are swirling about his motivations in an award process that resulted in a $500,000 state grant made in perpetuity to a shadowy Tea Party organization with ties to the National Rifle Association … group calling itself United Sportsmen of Wisconsin, headed by Suder’s former chief of staff, Luke Hilgemann … During the 2011 senate recalls, United Sportsmen faced backlash for their involvement in a series of misleading “Absentee Ballot Application” mailers and in 2012 they endorsed Scott Walkerin the recall election, stating that, “The second amendment took on a new meaning in Wisconsin under Governor Scott Walker.”