Republican Dan Mansell ran a congressional campaign two years ago touting "fair taxes".

By "fair", he meant contributing nearly $50,000 to well-heeled Republican political campaigns and committees while ignoring his responsibility to employees.

Mansell failed to pay more than $220,000 in payroll taxes to the federal government, according to tax liens filed at the Johnston County Clerk of Court office.

Now Mansell has filed to run again.

Dan Mansell owed more than $220,000 in back taxes.

"Congressional candidate Danny E. Mansell owes the federal government more than $220,000 in unpaid taxes, according to tax liens filed at the Johnston County Clerk of Court office.” [Fayetteville Observer, 10/17/2006]

"The records say that most of Mansell’s federal tax liens — just under $220,000 in principal — are for quarterly payments from his employees’ payroll taxes and accrued from June 1997 to June 2001. These can be income taxes, Social Security taxes, Medicare taxes or any combination of them, according to an IRS description."

Mansell admitted to "dropping the ball”

Mansell said he "just wasn’t keeping an eye on the ball… just mentally I wasn’t there…Things didn’t get taken care of" and blamed the tax evasion on family illnesses. [Fayetteville Observer, 10/17/2006]

But Mansell had his eye on his political buddies

According to campaign finance reports, Dan Mansell and his wife donated almost $50,000 to Republicans during the same time he was evading taxes, including the North Carolina Republican Party, the Senate campaigns of Richard Burr and Elizabeth Dole, North Carolina Rep. Leo Daughtry, Rep. Patrick McHenry, and the National Republican Congressional Committee.

In fact, $25,860 Mansell gave to federal Republican candidates and committees and $21,402 to North Carolina state Republican candidates, including $13,000 to his own failed Senate campaign. [Opensecrets.org 1996-2006 FEC data; North Carolina State Board of Elections 1996-2006 campaign finance disclosures]