Episode 326: The End

Consider This! | Conservative political commentary in 10 minutes or less

Good-bye

It’s been a good run, but after 10 years, this show is done. I appreciate all my listeners on whatever point on the political spectrum you might be.

I have a few parting thoughts, some reminiscing, and of course some conservative commentary. But this show goes a bit over the usual 10 minutes because, hey, it is a special episode.

Mentioned links:

A Parting Thought (Erick-Woods Erickson)

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Show transcript

Let me start with a little reminiscing. I started this podcast because I needed a creative outlet for my interest in politics. I had previously found one as a contributor to the late and lamented Shire Network News podcast. It helped me find my voice even though my skills as a satirist were not very good. See, the creator of SNN, a journalist from, at the time, New Zealand named Bruce Hill, had been running it solo when it started, and he had a biting sense of satire all his own. Later he started adding contributors who would send in a commentary of 3 minutes more or less (and sometimes a lot more (sorry Bruce)) which he’d incorporate into the show. After listening to it for a while, I heard Bruce ask for more contributors so that people didn’t have to send one in every week. I heard my chance and sent in my “screen test” as it were. Next episode he used it, so it was clear I got the job. But like I said, my satire chops were not well developed, and sometimes my contributions didn’t have any humor in them, satire or otherwise.

Anyway, that went on for a while until Bruce had time constraints and turned over the hosting duties to one of the contributors, and Bruce continued to record the weekly interview, the main part of the episode. A while after that, this contributor was having time constraints, so I took over hosting duties. Needless to say, this gave me lots of experience with audio editing. A while after that, Bruce informed me that he could no longer be involved in the podcast at all, so I suggested we do 1 last episode as a fitting good-bye to our listeners, rather than podfade. I enjoyed putting that together, but when it was done, my creative outlet was gone. I really wanted another one, and so this show came out of that. So thanks, Bruce, for that push.

When I started doing this show in 2012, I would do it at my desk in the basement. These days, I can’t do stairs. In fact, I can’t walk, or even stand up on my own. Not to get all “woe is me” here, but a lot can change in 10 years when you have Multiple Sclerosis. I got into a lot of that story back in episode 100. You can find it on the website if you want to listen to it. In late 2021 and early 2022, though, I was hospitalized twice, and each time it left me with less mobility. So now I spend my days in a wheelchair, although it is a pretty cool electric power wheelchair which gives me a lot more independence. I can use it outdoors to go down to our community’s clubhouse to get the mail, and it goes up and down so I can get things on higher shelves or not require people to bend over to talk to me. It stinks to qualify for a chair like this, but it is a bit of fun.

I say the same thing about handicap parking spaces. Stinks to qualify for them, but…

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Just a quick note on some recent news headlines.

First, after almost half a century of working within the democratic system, pro-lifers won a huge victory when Roe v Wade was officially overturned. I think the justices got it right when they said 2 things. One, that abortion never really was a constitutional right. Instead, 7 unelected justices created it themselves. I mean, was Roe’s trimester system in the Constitution? No, it was unlawful legislation, pure and simple. So women didn’t lose any right at all; they never had it. And if you’re upset over a development where more babies will live to see the light of day, well it just seems to me that you’re not on the right side of history.

The second thing that the court said was to agree that a majority of 9 unelected justices should not be making rules as consequential as these for the entire country. So they agreed to get out of the way and let the people decide for themselves through their elected representatives; you know, the democratic way. Unlike how some on the Left are framing this, this is how the government is supposed to work. Elected representatives make laws, and judges merely decide who is right in a dispute based on those laws.

I had a lot more to say in the last episode about the leak of the Alito draft opinion. Turns out that there wasn’t much of a difference between the draft and the final opinion, so my comments still fit.

Radio host Erick Erickson had a wonderful column that he wrote about the end of the Roe-era. Link is in the show notes, and here is what he wrote.

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A Parting Thought
By Erick-Woods Erickson
June 24^th, 2022

The strong nuclear force is the force that binds the nucleus of an atom together. The protons and neutrons, the quarks, and more are held there by that force.

For forty years, Roe v. Wade has been the strong nuclear force of the conservative movement. It has held disparate people of different walks of life together in common cause. Some have done it for the constitutional principle that abortion is not in the constitution and must be a matter for states. Some have done it for deeply religious reasons. Others have just signed on to be part of that cause.

Today at 10:20am ET, the United States Supreme Court snuffed out the strong nuclear force of the conservative movement. That movement will now fracture in many unforeseen and unpredictable ways.

Some small-government conservatives will now favor more expansive government spending for families and mothers. Some will favor and support more robust moral policies at the federal level. Some will be more libertarian than ever before. Where there had been consensus will now be, in some cases, disunity and discord. People who never cared for each other, but cared greatly about the cause, can now be disagreeable. People who’ve wanted to stake out positions to make names for themselves will be more bold. Others will work quietly.

Others will find new unity and new opportunity to work together for a greater and more expansive culture of [life]. They will agree to disagree and debate and work together for a new unity.

A new strong nuclear force will form and a new element within conservatism will take shape. A new atom with new energy will come to a movement that looks in some ways different from the old. It will take time.

For now, the cause that bound us together is gone and the parts of the movement move into new fights as the real work for a culture of life begins. It will cause disagreement, separation, and unity.

But, in the end, it is absolutely worth it. There was never a point for a Republican Party committed to ending Roe if it would not actually do so. Power for the sake of power must ultimately give way to use of that power even if by use, the power then fades. We have spent forty years persuading voters, building coalitions, changing hearts, changing minds, changing politicians, changing laws, and changing a Court — all for this one case, this one victory, this one day.

Let the power fade. Let the movement now evolve. The right decision has come.

In the end, life always finds a way.

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And so, finally, a parting thought of my own.

We were at the home of our future in-laws on one of those Sundays that was attended by a boatload of their extended family. My son had gotten to know one of the guys there who was a future son-in-law and my son had pointed him to my podcast on Spotify. (Note to future podcasters; get listed on Spotify.)

I asked him what he thought of it, and he replied with a smile, “I really enjoy it.” My wife then asked, “So are you a conservative?” After a brief pause but keeping that smile, he replied, “I really enjoy it.” We had a good laugh over that.

But here’s the thing; that guy has been my main target audience all along, and beside him I know of a few other listeners who fit that description. I consider it one measure of success that I have listeners like that; those who disagree with me but are willing to listen and consider this. Hence the name of the show. If you are one of those listeners, thank you so much for your time and consideration. I hope you’ve been given a thing or two to think about.

Now, my secondary audience has always been what the vast majority of my listeners are, and that is those who are already conservative, or at least center-right on the political spectrum. By one measure, there are around 1,000 of you out there! One thousand? As I’ve noted before, where in the world could I go every week (or so) where 1,000 people would gather to listen to anything I have to say? The only answer I know of so far is podcasting. If you are one of those listeners, I want to thank you for your time as well, and I hope I’ve given you either new ways to think about the issues, or information about issues you weren’t aware of, or a voice for your opinion via your feedback, or something to share with friends to help persuade them, or perhaps a little bit of all of those. I consider it a measure of success if I’ve done any of those things for you, or if I’ve just given you a reprieve from the liberal media for 10 minutes or less.

And so to remind you once more, that in whatever situation you find yourself, whenever, wherever, and whoever you are, always take some time to consider this.

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