Rusty Dewees was the featured entertainer at an Ethan Allen Institute event Wednesday night, but he’s also been the featured new politico of the month.
Will he or won’t he? The actor/comedian who gained fame portraying his alter ego “The Logger,” a flannel-clad icon of Woodchuck nation, has been the subject of speculated run for Congress.
Put him down as a definite maybe.
Before taking the stage at the EAI tribute to co-founder John McClaughry, Dewees spoke by phone with VTDigger from the deck of his home on Elmore Mountain. He said he was in his underwear.
Dewees said he might consider running for the House of Representatives in 2016, but is not announcing a campaign anytime soon.
“You think there is any chance I might run and then I might win, and then I would have to spend my days down in Washington standing on that ugly carpet next to a bunch of guys with suits that don’t fit very well? Come on buddy. I don’t think so,” Dewees said later during the dinner. “But I might.”
During his career as a performing artist, Dewees has performed as “The Logger,” a shtick that has brought him to every corner of the state. He said the experience has shaped him for a political career.
“I challenge any other politician to say they have covered it better than me, well perhaps Jim Douglas, OK,” he said. “I like people. That’s again why I would be really good in office.”
He said he has learned to communicate with Vermonters throughout this career.
“When you look at my strength and my ability, they line right up with many of the strengths you need to get votes and to get into office,” Dewees said. “If you want a starting point for a political try, boy, I have had it.”
He said his alter ego would not be part of any campaign.
“This would not be the Logger running, it would be Rusty Dewees,” he said. “This would be the first part of the campaign, getting that out to people who didn’t grasp that right away.
“I know that I would have to start changing my life around a little bit, at least two years ahead,” he said. “There would be work done before an announcement would be made.”
Others are already paying attention, however.
Dewees said former Rep. Floyd Nease, D-Lamoille, became interested in his political ambitions at an encounter at a local gym.
“He said if I do, ‘get in touch with me,’” Dewees said.
The most recent buzz — a Seven Days story, lunch with Jim Douglas, a plug on WDEV’s The Mark Johnson Show and his recent featured performance for a dinner attended by many state political leaders — is all serendipitous.
“It’s just kind of coincidental that all this happened,” Dewees said. “I ain’t bullshitting you one iota, man. I’m not a politician where I’m going to bullshit you,” he said. “That’s probably why I would lose.”
He used an ice cream analogy to describe his possible campaign issue focus: It would be like marketing another flavor that tastes pretty good, he said.
“Do you like mine,” he said. “Here, it’s good.”
His likely rival would be Rep. Peter Welch; Dewees said he has no plans to run for governor nor for a seat in the Senate.
“I don’t run against any guy or against any girl,” Dewees said. “I run for what I’m for.”
However, the Ethan Allen Institute’s anniversary dinner could be used as an opportunity to enable a future political career, he said. Dewees stepped out of character to play a little guitar in a demonstration of his serious side.
“They’ll see me as a joker, but I will try to let them know that there is another side to me,” Dewees said.
