Speaker Fabian Nunez Check from the California Democratic Party

There has already been a great deal of attention to the California Democratic Party's $4 million "refund" check to Speaker Fabian Nunez (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7).

But to-date, most of the discussion about the money has focused upon whether it was proper (with Nunez team refusing to discuss, instead insisting that it doesn't matter because the transfer was technically legal).

I would prefer to focus on whether the transaction was strategic. What $4,000,000.00 Could Do:

• 58 County Strategy - Invest in a viable operation in every county by providing $68,965 seed money grants to each county that drafts a plan to sustain a staffed office.
• Congressional Strategy - With no state-wide races in 2008, the congressional races are the most attractive option for boosting local energy to help our presidential nominee. Challenging all 19 Republican incumbents could be catapulted by investing $210,526 in each district.
• Legislative Strategy - In 2008, nine Republican state senate and 32 house seats could be challenged more aggressively by investing $97,560 in each district.
• Technology Upgrade - To help all future Democratic candidates invest $4 million to build a stronger technological framework for micro-targeting.
• Targets of Opportunity Fund - Plan to take full advantage of unplanned opportunities by funding instant ad buys. When Schwarzenegger screws up, drop a half a million in ads. When a Republican scandal breaks, invest a million in ads immediately.
• Corruption Strategy - With both Congressmen John Doolittle (CA-04) and Jerry Lewis (CA-41) expected to be indicted, invest $2 million in each district.
• Public Art - To further remind small donors that the CDP is so flush with cash that it can refund your donations to Nunez, create an art masterpiece. Start by withdrawing the money in $1 bills (end-to-end length is 387.62 miles). Then lay them out to cover the entire 386 miles from the CDP's headquarters in Sacramento to Speaker Nunez' District Office in Los Angeles.

What would you do with $4 million?