JUNK Magazine

Edward Eugene Baskett Calls Him Christopher
Posted by Ellen Feig on August 24, 2005

Who is Edward Eugene Baskett and why is he obsessed with Chris Matthews of MSNBC’s Hardball? Baskett has written numerous, unanswered letters to the anchor and compiled them into a small book titled I Call Him Christopher: My Letters to “Chris” Matthews of Hardball. JUNK spoke to this man of mystery via telephone from his home outside of Lake Arrowhead, California.

Ellen Feig: Hello Edward. Tell me a bit about yourself.

Edward Eugene Baskett: I was born on a chicken farm in Oklahoma. My mother was a traveling evangelist who met my father, the chicken farmer, while on a tour across the country. They married but unfortunately the farm went south and we hitched a ride to Long Beach, California. I grew up in California in a devout Christian home where my mother prayed for me each and every day. After graduating from Brethren High School, I went straight into the business world. I had heard that being a male secretary was a good stepping stone and ultimately worked my way up, from job to job, as a secretary to two top Ford Motor executives.

EF: You have written a book about your experiences with the GE Company. Explain a bit about that.

EEB: I began selling life insurance policies mainly to Christian Scientists – over 1100 of them. At one point GE purchased the group division of the insurance company and threw out my clients’ policies – there was a loophole in the policies, one I had never known about, that allowed GE to cancel the policies at anytime. All of this went on while my mother was dying. It was horrible and I ended up losing my business. When this happened I began to write my book on GE and the horror of big companies taking over America – worst thing that ever happened to this country. The GE fiasco triggered me to begin writing. I started to get on the internet which opened my world.

EF: You’ve written two other works: An Accused Homosexual Looks at American Justice and I Leap Over Their Heads. Are either of these published?

EEB: No, they are both too controversial – no one will touch them.

EF: So how did these letters to Chris Matthews of Hardball start?

EEB: I liked to watch Chris – he is very presentable and I like that in men and women. When I am irritated I write and Hardball stimulated me. Sometimes I write two letters in a week and sometimes I write none – depends upon the stories.

EF: Is there any one story in particular that made you write a letter?

EEB: There was a story about the city of San Francisco passing an ordinance that you can’t discriminate against transsexuals, and I was provoked to write a blistering letter about that. If there’s something I don’t like I make it clear that I’m not going to let Chris get away with it.

EF: Have any of the letters been answered?

EEB: No, but I know that Hardball listens to me.

EF: What do you mean?

EEB: Well, I’ll give you an example. They had changed the time of the show so it coincided with Judge Judy, a show I watch. I wrote to the Hardball people and told them that they had to move the show back to its original time so I could keep watching the Judge. Ultimately they did so. Also, when Chris started letting his hair get too long I wrote and told him he was looking unruly – days later they announced online that Chris had got a new haircut. I know they were talking to me.

EF: So, what would you consider yourself?

EEB: First and foremost I would say I’m not a good Christian, but I am a devout Christian. I believe in standing up for principle and as my mother taught me a life lived in the service of other people is a life worth living. Second, I am a political humorist. Over 81,000 people have hit my website and if you search Yahoo! I come up 1000 times. Most of the emails I receive are positive.

EF: Do you have a publisher for I Call Him Christopher?

EEB: No, I intend on publishing myself through Book Search. If it sells, I’ll garner public attention and be able to get the other books finished and sold.

EF: Would you like to meet Chris Matthews?

EEB: If it happens, sure, but I think it’s better to conjure up in my head who he is and for him to conjure up who I am. Of course if he was at a book signing or something I wouldn’t walk away.

EF: I have a feeling security might come to take you away.

EEB: You’re probably right about that.