“I’ve talked to members of the (National) Guard, the Reserves and a lot of veterans,” Ferrell said Thursday. “And they all say they’ve got my back.”
Ferrell, R-Albany, qualified at the Capitol in Atlanta Wednesday for a run against Bishop, D-Albany, who is seeking his ninth term in the U.S. House representing the 2nd Congressional District. And, true to his military background, Ferrell says veterans’ issues will be a large part of his campaign.
“I’m not a politician; I’m a soldier,” he said. “But I see the way this country is treating its veterans, and I am appalled. We have a $338 billion-a-year problem with illegal immigrants, yet our soldiers are being kicked out of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder treatment clinics.
“From 2001 to 2007, there were 144 veteran suicides, and only 14 of those got to see a counselor at a Disabled Veterans’ clinic even once. What’s even more scary is that statistics show there have been 16,000 attempted suicides during that time.”
Ferrell said he doesn’t want to come across as anti-war.
“What I am is anti-discharge of our veterans without giving them benefits,” he said. “And a lot of those veterans in this area tell me Sanford Bishop is unapproachable. I’m running for them, and I’m running because I have a bone to pick with the U.S. Congress.”
Ferrell, who said he plans to organize a grass roots campaign that will include “knocking on a lot of doors,” is scheduled to speak at the Sylvester library at 4 p.m. today.
The neophyte politician said he plans to attend a training session in Macon Saturday, after which he will start to put together his campaign team.
“I’m not ready to give names just yet because I want to make sure all my ‘i’s’ are dotted and all my ‘t’s’ crossed,” he said. “But I’ve got some veterans who’ve said they’re ready to go to work for me.”
Ferrell said that while veterans issues are of primary concern to him, there are a number of issues that he plans to bring up during the campaign process.
“Social Security is in the same boat as the Veterans Administration,” he said. “Mismanagement in that department has left them some 1.6 million claims behind. And there are more than 800,000 Chinese and 400,00 North Koreans in this country illegally that concern me. Those countries don’t even have to load up a boat; their people are here.”