Democratic Party pols used to understand the obvious. If there were an issue that most people, most voters, held dear, and if it fell within the party’s own traditional policy parameters, these pols used to beat it to death and win elections with it. That was the way it was in the old days.

Now these pols have been Obama-ed. They think deeply. They wallow in the depths of the counter-intuitive. They see the many facets of complex issues and seek always for a solution that accommodates the thinking of minds as deep and far-seeing as their own. And of course that accommodates The Markets. And oh yes, are bipartisan, too, because isn’t what The People really need, even if that’s not what The People are smart enough to know that they really need it?

What I am going to suggest now will therefore be treated as only a small part of present-day, more profound Democratic policy setting and electioneering, not the be-all issue to run on. Indeed, it will be laughed at because of its lack of sophistication, its simplistic approach to matters that demand more subtle and nuanced approaches.

But here it is anyway. TAX THE RICH. That’s the only issue Democrats need to win the upcoming election. TAX THE RICH. That’s what most people want in place of squeezing everyone else. TAX THE RICH not only as the opening gambit in a political debate, but as the last issue that will be left standing, with the only compromise ultimately allowed is how much to TAX THE RICH so others need not suffer more than they absolutely must. Take not taxing the rich off the table.

TAX THE RICH! TAX THE RICH! TAX THE RICH! Got it. Don’t ponder it. Don’t see the other guy’s point of view. Don’t expect the other side to see the past error of their ways. ways. Don’t expect them not to use every hackneyed phrase to come back at you.

Just do it. TAX THE RICH in deed as well as words and win. Or whiny compromise your way to another defeat and more pain for the people you purport to serve. Start with that 3 percent surtax on incomes above $1 million a year and go from there.

More about this writer’s latest work can be found on the Internet at: This God-Awful Political Season (In Verse).