With 28 years of military experience, Mike Turner probably is an atypical Democratic candidate for Congress.
Since retiring from the Air Force in 1997, Turner has worked in senior national fundraising positions for the American Red Cross, Junior Achievement Inc., and the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
He said those experiences also caused him to consider running for Congress and challenging Wolf.
In the military, Turner served under Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf and Gen. Wesley Clark.
He said those experiences gave him more of a sense of politics, working with those leaders as they advised presidents and tried to guide foreign policy.
"I am appalled by the Bush administration’s foreign policy," Turner said. "Frank Wolf voted for this unconscionable war."
Foreign policy, Turner said, is a crucial need. He said the actions of the Bush administration will put the U.S. on the defensive over the next 25 years, and put America’s foreign policy at a disadvantage throughout the world.
The Iraq war’s costs include extreme debt beyond the expense of having a military engaged in battle on the other side of the world. Turner said treating the medical needs and post-traumatic stress of the U.S. troops who fight in Iraq will cost at least billions of dollars.
Turner said the housing crisis, in part, is the result of credit problems, with most Americans borrowing much more money than they can afford.
He said the housing boon in Northern Virginia alone pushed people to live farther from work, putting more stresses on a road system ill-equipped to handle it. The gases released from those vehicles also helped to increase global warming.
To Turner, these are the types of debts that future generations will need to pay off. He said current leaders, however, can begin to pay those back, decreasing the future debt.
Turner also hopes that the public will come out to meet him at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at The Piccadilly Brew Pub, 125 E. Piccadilly St. in Winchester.
