Yellowhammer’s recent story, “How Obama organizers are trying to hijack Alabama’s Republican primary” stirred up a lot of conversation and was shared several thousand times on Facebook in just a couple of days.
We received a flood of emails asking us to expose the candidates who are being supported by the Obama organizers and the AEA, with whom they are working closely.
One such example really jumped out at us over the weekend.
The Southeast Alabama Gazette is a liberal Democratic newspaper based in Alabama’s Wiregrass region. It is published by Hillard Hamm, an outspoken Obama supporter who has a long history of backing a wide variety of liberal causes.
Here are just a few examples:
- Hamm refers to guns as “America’s hidden menace.”
- He implored his readers to not blame President Obama or liberal big-spenders for the nation’s credit downgrade, but to instead point the finger at the Tea Party.
- He touted President Obama’s re-election as a “great victory for America.”
But over the weekend Hamm was not urging his readers to get out to the polls and vote for Democrats. He was instead endorsing the candidacy of a Republican state legislative candidate in Enterprise named Josh Pipkin. Pipkin has received a huge chunk of his campaign cash from a deceptively named PAC believed by many to be little more than a front for the AEA.
Pipkin had previously taken out an ad in the Gazette as well, calling for the paper’s liberal audience to crossover and vote for him.
This is a perfect example of what the Obama/AEA community organizing machine hopes will happen on election day — traditionally Democratic voting blocs will cast votes in the Republican primary while GOP voters sit at home thinking their vote won’t count.
Here are a few excerpts from Hamm’s article on Pipkin:
Because he is listed on the ballot as a Republican should not deter you as a Democrat from crossing over and voting for him.
This is an opportunity for registered Democrats to step forward and vote Joshua Pipkin…
Ask for the Republican ballot upon your entry to vote and then vote Joshua Pipkin.
We have spent hours talking with Joshua Pipkin about the needs of our community and feel he will represent us well.
Crossing over and voting for him by asking to vote on the Republican ballot does not take away your registration as a Democrat.
District 91 is far from the only area of the state where this is happening. Check out the video below for a quick look at the Democrats’ statewide efforts.
Full disclosure: Josh Pipkin’s opponent Barry Moore and Mr. Sims co-owned a company together in the past. Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims