Take Bobby Rush’s entanglement of campaign finances, family employment and social service and religious organizations, and Bobby Rush is essentially taking money into his campaign fund and paying it out to organizations that provide significant benefits to members of his family and supporters.
In Rush’s defense, the organizations do good work, but why do the organizations he chooses to support out of his campaign funds have to be organizations in which he or an immediate family member is a Board Member or employee?
The issue isn’t all that different than a couple of the problems that DeLay is facing in regards to DeLay’s charity–other than Rush’s appear to be doing more than holding high powered fundraisers. But it’s still a serious conflict and a simple way to avoid it would be to say campaign funds can’t be distributed to organization in which one or an immediate family member is employed or sits on the Board of Directors.