Fred Tuttle: A Man with a Plan

Fred Tuttle,  Man with a Plan, decided to run for the Republican nomination for the US Senate this fall. We have partially excerpted an article written by Lois R. Shea from the Boston Globe. See our follow-up Folklore section for the outcome of the primary and the election!

"Fred Tuttle is a 79-year-old man who milked cows all his life and paid for it with his knees. He quit school in the 10th grade to work on the farm, and those bib overalls are no prop. When he gets pensive, he lifts his hat and scratches the top of his head."

"Fred Tuttle starred as himself in the 1996 arthouse flick 'Man With A Plan,' in which a retired dairy farmer gets himself elected to Congress so he can pay his taxes and buy his father a hip operation."

"Now, Fred Tutle is running for the republican nomination for the US Senate. For real."

"And the truly wild thing? He might win."

".... The quirky little movie made Tuttle a Vermont icon whose beguiling mug in one of the most recognizable in the Green Mountain state."

"Tuttle is running against Jack McMullen, a Massachusetts millionaire who owns a ski house in Vermont but established residency here last year. In McMullen, Tuttle may have found his perfect foil."

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

Source: Candidate milks spotlight: VT film icon eyes Senate, Lois R. Shea,The Boston Globe, August 10, 1998.