The Popcorn Stand: It could be 2020 — or 1956

I must admit as long as I’ve been writing this Popcorn Stand in its various forms in various publications, I’ve written about subjects over and over again. So again I refer to the Democratic Party’s battle, so to speak, when it comes to the liberal and moderate wings of their party. And of course I’m referring to the Democratic National Convention — that happened in 1956.

As I’ve written before this column is named in honor of my favorite sports columnist, Pulitzer Prize-winning Red Smith, who once dubbed one of his columns the Popcorn Stand. He covered the 1956 Democratic National Convention — from a sportswriter’s perspective.

And really there’s no difference between how sports and politics are covered today. When it comes to sports there’s always a bunch of people sitting around a table pontificating about what just happened.

I didn’t watch any of the coverage of the Democratic National Convention but I’m sure it featured a lot of people sitting around a table pontificating about what just happened.

Former President Harry Truman spoke at the 1956 convention and Smith was there to cover it. Smith wrote how Truman came out like a boxer.

Smith also wrote about how the Democratic party shouldn’t abandon its liberal ideals in favor of the more moderate Adlai Stevenson. Truman did endorse Stevenson, but the fact he still so forcefully stood up for the liberal wing of the party is something that would never happen today.

But nothing has really changed. In 2016, Bernie Sanders was Harry Truman and Hillary Clinton was Adlai Stevenson.

In 2020, Alexandria Ocasio-cortez was given a minor role in this week’s convention. If Red Smith was covering this week’s convention he probably would have referred to Ocasio-cortez as the bench player who comes off the bench during garbage time.

I know Smith would have loved to cover this week’s Democratic National Convention. And I know he would have really loved to cover the upcoming Republican National Convention. And I would have loved to have read Smith’s take on these conventions — from a sportswriter’s perspective.

I know Smith would have absolutely loved to cover President Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention.

And Smith wouldn’t hold back from referring to those he didn’t care for from both parties as “crum bums” — another one of his favorite terms.

Crumbum is actually an awesome word. It shows how Smith so wonderfully used the English language. The definition of crumbum is someone who’s an objectionable or foolish person.

So when Smith really didn’t like someone he didn’t just call them a bum. No, that wouldn’t suffice. To let his readers know what he really thought about an objectionable or foolish person, he referred to them as a crumbum.

I’m sure Smith would have written there’s a lot of crumbums in politics.

From a sportswriter’s perspective, of course.