Oklahoma City Progressives: Fire Rove

On Tuesday night, as we were searching for a restaurant, we drove past a group of people in front of a coffee shop waving "Fire Karl Rove" signs. We stopped to ask them a few questions. Turns out, they are part of the Oklahoma City Impeach Bush Meetup Group and meet every Tuesday night. Here are excerpts from those brief interviews:

We're just mad as hell. This war is illegal and the people in the White House are traitors and criminals. It's time for the people to wake up.

Why did Kerry fail to win one county here?

This is Oklahoma. This is the reddest of the red. That's why we voted for the General because we figured we'd have a better shot with him. It's tough here, but we get lots and lots of thumbs up and waves and lots of birdies, too. You're in the inner city and we have our arts district here and we had a huge gay pride parade here. It's a lot different than the rest of the city. Anytime you get out of this central area, it gets pretty red. But you know, they are nice friendly folks and they'll let you in traffic and that kind of thing, but they just don't like you talkin' bad about their president.
-Randy Feuerborn


I was in the military and that's why I'm here. I got out in '92. I spent 14 years in the Navy. I know how those boys feel over there. The media doesn't tell us how they feel and what they're going through.
-Roger Harkness, Oklahoma City Kid Blogger



We are trying to make people aware. I think a lot of people feel this way, but they're afraid to speak out, especially in Oklahoma, since it's a very conservative state. I was surprised that we got so many honks and thumbs up. It's important to let people know that we're here. There are so many lies and deceptions coming out of the White House. We're doing this every Tuesday. It's our responsibility to have the discussion with others. Once you start talking to people about it, they ask questions.

And you helped with the Kucinich campaign?

Yes, we even got stopped by a state trooper while we were working on the campaign. Luckily, he was a Democrat and saw all of our campaign stuff and said, you girls can go. But we gave him some Kucinich information because he hadn't heard of him.

Considering that Kerry didn't win one county here, what did people think about Kucinich?

Most people had never heard of him. I used to work with Republicans and all they knew was four letters: B-U-S-H. I had a bunch of Kucinich information in my cubicle and they would ask about him. I gave them information and most people we talked to that read the stuff said, I love the guy, but there's no way he can win so I'm not going to put my energy into it, which was so sad.
-Sharon Ginsler


I just heard a comment today from someone who heard that Valerie Plame didn't even work for the CIA when her name was leaked and I'm wondering, where do people get this information? It's just crazy. It was all over the news, but it has taken a back seat. We want to keep it in the forefront and the way you do that is get out in the street and hold up your sign. It's short and simple. Fire Karl Rove. We feel we have the right to get out there and voice our opinion. I've called three of the major networks in town. I've done a lot of interviews with local radio stations, but other than that, it's hard to get the alternative message out. We have to get our message out through the Internet or the radio because the major networks are scared to touch this stuff.

And you worked on the Dennis Kucinich campaign?

Yes, I visited over 200 cities in Oklahoma.
-Lisa Ghariani, State Coordinator for the Dennis Kucinich Campaign