OB’s ranting “Whistler” has been at it again. This time, he traveled to Maricopa County in Arizona and yelled “election fraud” at the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors last week, despite evidence that both Maricopa County and statewide elections were fair and free from fraud.
Matt Baker, if you recalled, received national notoriety back in August 2021 when he addressed the San Diego County Board of Supervisors by whistling and yelling at them about COVID mandates. A video of his performance went viral and he was even mocked by comedian Stephen Colbert. He wore the same T-shirt in AZ as he did in front of our Board of Supes.
This time, Baker was one of nearly two dozen spoke during the public comment portion of the morning meeting, most of them there to speak out against the way the election was handled.
The AZ Mirror explains:
On his Twitter [Baker] describes himself as: “a freedom fighter and owner of slave2liberty clothing company fighting medical mandates and technocratic tyranny.” And on his Instagram — which is filled with QAnon, pro-Trump, anti-mask, and anti-vaxx content, along with clips of his appearances on Alex Jones’ InfoWars — he mentions “San Diego Board” and posts often about California.
In one video he explains that “before the war” he was a glass blower, and his old Instagram states that he blows glass and lives in Ocean Beach, California. It’s clear he doesn’t even live in Arizona, he’s just here promoting his Alex Jones-infused ideologies and his clothing line.
Baker told the supervisors:
“Once again, the eyes of the world are upon Maricopa County for another botched election, Am I here to accuse you of stealing the vote? Heavens, no, for that would make me a terrorist, wouldn’t it?”
Baker spoke about tabulator issues that left voters who cast their ballots in person on Election Day with the choice to either place their ballot in a box named “door 3” to be tabulated later or go to another voting site. By the end of his comments, he was screaming at the supervisors, telling them, “You are the cancer that is tearing this nation apart!” …
None of the other speakers expressed their dismay as aggressively as Baker, but Supervisor Bill Gates did have to ask people in the audience to be quiet numerous times, as they clapped or cheered or attempted to speak over those they disagreed with, including some of the supervisors.
Maricopa County Supervisor Steven Gallardo is certain that the elections were “safe, secure, and accurate” — and researchers at PolitiFact who have studied the matter extensively agree. PolitiFact explains:
We’ve debunked many claims seeking to undermine this [Arizona] contest’s results, including false allegations about voting machines, printers and efforts to disenfranchise voters.
Voting machines at about 70 vote centers in Maricopa County temporarily stopped processing ballots on Election Day; some of the ballot printers didn’t use enough ink, making the ballots unreadable by a tabulator’s scanner.
But voters weren’t turned away. They could place their ballots in a secured slot so their votes would be counted after polls closed or they could go to different Maricopa County polling locations that had working tabulators. … No evidence has emerged of widespread voter fraud in Arizona, just as it didn’t in the 2020 election.
Besides yelling at the San Diego Board, the Maricopa Board, he also went up to Huntington Beach earlier in the pandemic, yelling against “Satan worshipping fools” and mask mandates.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
That boy ain’t right.
Not to mention the fact that he is not even that good of a whistler.
There is a little known place where hippie lifestyle intersects with extreme anti-government views, and it always seems to confuse those who see the world in black and white. I’m certain anyone who associated with hippie culture will take offense and say it’s all peace and love and your actions define you not your appearance… I disagree, people will define themselves. And unfortunately despite information being more available than ever before, or perhaps because of it, we are able to fester and self-radicalize inside a distorted bubble of a world, and social media will reliably connect us to others to reinforce it. It’s as important as ever that we challenge ourselves with opposing views, and stay connected and engaged with friends and acquaintances who might be prone to falling down the rabbit hole.
This reminds me of the guy that attacked Paul Pelosi.
https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/pelosi-suspect-david-depape-ideology-17550472.php
It’s not that uncommon, so I doubt anyone would be offended by that. There’s even been a fair amount of far right in the punk world.
Chris, there’s been a lot of “far right” in the “punk world” for decades.
I know. I was there.
Tho a lot of it was not really politically motivated. Yes there was a strong right wing faction, but in the early days a lot of punks sported swastikas more for shock value than any real allegiance to Nazism.
On another note, one of the more entertaining bands of the early LA hardcore period (Fear) spouted homophobic slurs at the audience but that was just to get some fists flying and skulls cracked more than anything else. Lee Ving off stage is certainly not homophobic. A successful Fear set was when the cops shut the set down before they finished and a few bodies were rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.
Tom Metzger was milling around early on (late 70’s, early 80s). Make no mistake, it was political then. He saw the “beach punks” as perfect recruits for his “army” of nitwits. He trolled San Diego and Orange County, among other places, recruiting these imbeciles. Many of these characters, those that survived, still hold right-wing, racist views.
Not saying thew weren’t a presence, just that not all who sported that horrible symbol were actual Nazi sympathizers. As I said, I was there so I witnessed a fair amount of it.
Another reason many thought the punk scene was overtly right wing was due to the the strong anti hippie sentiment of time. Even very lefty leaning punks had a strong disdain for hippie culture, even if they agreed politically and socially with hippies.
Metzger planted the seed, as did others of his ilk. He was successful. Metzger had a captive audience. He knew what he was doing. It was political then, make no mistake.
Fast forward… Fat Nixon captured 46.8% of the 2020 popular vote. No doubt, many of Metzger’s lingering believers contributed to that percentage.
Remember, Siouxsie Sioux, Ron Asheton (Stooges) and a few others spored the Swastika but I seriously doubt they were Nazi sympathizers. It was absolutely unacceptable in retrospect but back then shock value and offending for the sake of offending was the goal. But yes there were those who Tom Metzger did recruit who went that way even without him. Hence the song Nazi Punks F**k Off by The Dead Kennedys.