Fred Tuttle: A Man with a Plan (Continued)

Fred Tuttle, Man With A Plan, decided to run for the Republican nomination for the US Senate this fall. Fred Tuttle: A Man with a Plan was our Folklore selection previously. We left you with the following quote:

"I hope Fred wins just out of principle, said Michelle Barnaby. To say maybe the average person does stand a chance."

Well.......guess what? He did win the primary!! So, we thought we'd give you a Vermonter's view of this unusual U.S. Senate race against four-term Democratic incumbent Patrick Leahy. We have partially excerpted an article written by Marialisa Calta, a freelance journalist from Vermont.

" There's always some cute story coming out of Vermont. A bull moose falls in love with a dairy cow. Two chubby guys turn a corner ice cream store into an empire. The state is put on the endangered species list. It's no wonder a journalist once suggested as a state slogan: 'Vermont -- American's Pet.'"

"And now, Fred Tuttle, the 79-year-old retired dairy farmer with a grade school education who won the Republican nomination for US Senate against a millionaire with both a law degree and MBA from Harvard.....On September 8, he won by about 5,000 votes."

"Fred himself is adorable; he's got a great crinkly smile and a baldish head and is incredibly photogenic in his overalls, limping through verdant pastures."

"How folksy can you get? But that's Vermont for you. Or is it?"

"....I voted for Fred. But I didn't see his bid, or my vote, as a joke. I voted for the serious intent behind his candidacy, the idea that representing the state in Washington requires a commitment to and understanding of the place and its people. I voted because it was probably the only time in my voting life that I felt I truly had the chance to send a message, and the message was this: Vermont elections can't be bought."

"Under its postcard exterior, Vermont does have a soul....Fred Tuttle -- with his knees blown out from the hard work of milking cows, and his frugal lifestyle on a hillside farm -- represents, at least for some of us, a piece of that reality."

Source: Tuttle vote: no joke, Marialisa Calta,The Boston Globe, September 28, 1998.

Well.....Fred didn't make it toWashington. He lost the election to Senator Patrick Leahy, however, he managed to capture approximately a third of the votes!! If you're interested in the video, check-out Man with a Plan.