Okay, sometimes a modest proposal is, well ... a bit too modest, and thus misunderstood. Earlier today I jotted down this post ...

A bold idea from Josh Marshall, sorta-well-known scribbler!

As long as we're cleaning house, can we also crack down on the pro-member of Congress cab system in DC? And down with those separate elevators in the Capitol that are only for members of Congress.

Who is so stupid or so venal as to make this whole story an issue of who can put more road blocks in the way of bagging a free meal or filling out more forms when you take your bribes?

This generated a surprisingly large number of emails defending the member-only elevators on Capitol Hill and even the DC cab system.

Folks: I was joking.

It always takes a bit of the fun out of the exercise to reel back one of these things. My point was that we shouldn't reduce a scandal about slush funds, organized bribery and various other criminal acts to picayune little administrative fixes that mean nothing to ordinary Americans and do nothing to address the problem at hand.