So true, distrust is a prerequisite for failing democracy. But what if they plan to steal the vote anyway? That's seeming more and more possible, based on MAGA activities in local elections.
Hi Ruth, thanks for this piece..observing what is going on with elections in Venezuela where the incumbent has lost the popular vote his followers are being kidnaped, assaulted and ridiculing protesters. I may be wrong but I accept the fact that US elections will result in the same type of outcome considering election deniers have been placed in critical positions, those folks in turn will not certify the election… thus tossing the election to the state legislatures and or Trumps Supreme Court.. needless to say I hope I am wrong..but I do see a pattern here among democracies attempting to survive under threats from authoritarians and their supporters.
Perhaps creating doubt is the real objective of troll farms (and volunteer trolls) and bots and companies like Cambridge Analytica. Whether or not they sway voters, they certainly introduce doubt about the integrity of the voting process.
I've seen academics argue back and forth on whether they influence the vote or simply engage people who already had a certain mindset. I don't think I've seen anybody argue that these tactics increase confidence in elections.
We’re not an autocracy YET! There are enough facts, consisting of the 62 court-cases proving NO evidence of election fraud in the 2020 election. Also, court-cases like Guiliani’s and FOX NEWS having to pay multi-millions of dollars for lying about the election; ACTUAL numbers of fraud cases found (not many at all) that tell the REAL story~ . Include with these numbers, the testimonies of many of Trump’s own Republican staff, like Chris Krebs, Director of Cyber Security during the 2020 election who proclaimed that the 2020 election was the “cleanest” election ever run. Facts still matter and numbers don’t lie! The Dems (Lincoln Project, etc) should make it their business to POUND these facts and numbers into the airwaves and cyber-spheres like FOX and all right-wing social media. We should NEVER stop purporting the facts and numbers repeatedly (just like Trump does) to prove the integrity of the 2020 elections, especially now, on the “eve” of the 2024 elections~!
But how do you get people in The Other Reality to open up to the possibility that they're been misled on these issues? 2000 Mules is a great example of what you're talking about. Quoting this substack* "first exposure matters more in forming opinions than any subsequent refutation or correction" You and I know that 2000 Mules was pulled from distribution because of a successful defamation suite that put 2000 Mules on the legal record as a lie (oversimplified, but you get the point). I bet that 10s of million of Americans still believe it.
Robert, I’m not familiar with 2000 mules but I’ll check it out. In the USA, it’s not a “crime” (like it is in Russia) to report the truth and call things as they are; not yet, anyway. I fully understand that MAGA is a cult, - but it doesn’t mean that the left should ever give up POUNDING away at the TRUTH: what REALLY happened in 2020. For every utterance from Trump’s lips that the 2020 election was stolen, how many times does anyone correct him or set “the record” straight? The “left”, and the media, for that matter, have failed miserably in any counter-offensive tactic. My point is that the NUMBERS AND FACTS are on our side and that’s so valuable! Again, numbers don’t lie…we just need to take a page out of Trump’s playbook and ‘pound it home’ - on FOX airwaves and right-wing media, - not just to set the record straight about 2020, - but to shore-up election integrity BEFORE the 2024 election!!! Our democracy depends on it!
Trump should by now have been on trial for inciting an insurrection and possessing classified documents without authorization. Merrick Garland is derelict in his responsibility to protect the American people. I hope that one of President Harris’ first actions is to replace Garland with a reputable prosecutor.
Former Senator Doug Jones, D-AL, was under consideration when Garland was settled for. Senator Jones would have been outstanding! Garland has been back-on his heels all these Biden years!
I think Garland was chosen to keep the peace, to not upset the apple cart, to counteract everything trump did with DOJ. Unfortunately, IMO that backfired big time. There should have been more aggressive pursuit of criminal charges and trials, because criminals should be tried, no matter who they are - even former presidents. I would like to see Doug Jones as AG. I think he would be good.
Have no idea what the job of Garland was supposed to be - other than independent of the White House. Biden did leave him alone and out of the picture. Garland may be an outstanding jurist but a weak administrator? He acted thoroughly and completely removed from any and all legal operations. Biden surely did not use the Department of Justice as his own legal office! As we had observed with Trump!
I think he was afraid of political repercussions, of being accused of being like trump's DOJ. He may also have been a weak administrator, I don't know.
I think Garland was given the AG role as a consolation prize for having been cheated out of the seat on the SC. He's not cut out for the role of prosecutor.
I don't think that's the biggest factor, especially when there was a major congressional investigation of Trump's role in Jan 6th. I think Garland didn't want to look like an attack dog. It was about him, not politics.
Glenn, you need to listen to ULTRA and read PREQUEL to know the most recent history of American conservatives bullying the DOJ when the law is enforced on them. They hide behind the Constitution while undermining it.
Ruth, these facts are so frightening, and thanks for alerting us, again. Our VOTE seems to be the only act we can take, but we must keep speaking out and admitting the danger that lies ahead with Trump & Company. Must face this danger to all generations while Trump continues on his anti-American rage and desire for dictatorship, spreading it from coast-to-coast!
Ruth Ben-Ghiat: How prescient was Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky when, in "Crime and Punishment," Rashkolnikov had elevated the Great Man beyond the pale of the law, of judgment.
I am really hoping that a lot of disengaged people I know who fall into the Millennial category get inspired to vote. I know people who believe that their votes don't count anyway. It stems from a poor understanding of the electoral college, and math. The idea that one vote does not matter. Is missing the point that it is the collectivity of one votes that matter. Also, each vote represents a demographic I have tried to tell a friend. My demographic votes in high numbers and therefore politicians look at what are our concerns. The millennial malaise is one of the reasons we don't have universally paid for child care in the US and many other things that might help young families to have a better quality of life. Another fallacy I feel that these non-voters are operating under, is that if they don't vote their lives will still be fine. In other words, it does not make much difference who is in power because they are both going to be pretty much the same. As a middle class, White male to think that you will be just fine no matter who wins, is not so far from the truth, but again, there are individuals in this collectivity of White males. If you are White and male and not Christian you will not get to live your religious identity truthfully. If you are White and male and gay, you will not get to live your identity truthfully. Peter Thiel seems to miss this point, or think he is so special he will not be touched, because he clearly does not understand enough about the End of Days beliefs of the New Apostolic Reformers. Andra Watkins explains in her Substack how NAR have a different End of Days belief than White Christian Nationalists, and it matters. Here she discusses the difference. https://project2025istheocracy.substack.com/p/what-is-the-new-apostolic-reformation
Understanding this, one can see that the people who are NAR members which it appears Alito and Mike Johnson are, then you see that they believe that God will not come to earth until they have made everyone on the planet succumb to what they believe is the lifestyle he wants everyone to be living. Therefore they must use their positions of power to force their values on everyone else. No reward for them unless everyone is converted. Pornography is wrong. Good luck getting rid of that by their definition which includes being gay, or holding hands outside of marriage. https://project2025istheocracy.substack.com/p/this-is-how-christian-nationalists?utm_source=publication-search
Many states are already taking away the right to vote. We need to have a blue wave and make mandatory voter registration the law of the land, and remove barriers to voting as the law of the land.
Not voting for Democratic candidates means voting for Project 2025. I wish people considering abstention or a 3rd party candidate would realize this. The Democratic party may be imperfect in many ways, but (to me) the idea that it's equivalent to the current Republican party. . .is not even an idea. It a hollow bubble in the place where an idea should be. It's a complete failure to think and inform yourself.
And the scariest parts of Project 2025 are not the parts that are written down there. The scariest parts are the ideas, attitudes and motivations of the people who contributed to Project 2025, who came from Trump's previous administration and look forward to a Trump victory so they can finish the work they started and remove any roadblocks they encountered the previous time (pesky things like separation of powers, legal precedent, the parts of the Constitution they don't like, etc.)
I agree, and I have been pointing that out to people. I am in a Democrats Abroad book club group which is reading Project 2025. We are not reading it straight through but reading the parts that most interest us, so we can get a 10 bullet point handout to give to people at events that are happening now in Germany where I am mostly living. I think that it is also important to point out that Project 2025 is taking place in the Supreme Court and in Red States more but also some in Blue States. So, it will be more codified. We need to also be pointing out that there is a plan to end voting. Trump and his cronies want a king and find democracy and voting. very inconvenient for what some of the people in the party believe is righteous action. Trump is not religious just a mad for power and wealth.
I'm not good at explaining to those who are totally uninformed, so I shared this post with my daughter, who despises Trump but has no idea how dangerous he is.
So what can the international community do to support Venezuelans their righteous victory. I’m watching carefully as I’m certain this fiasco will happen in November. MAGA is prepared and the Bench is too.
I was watching an ad on The Lincoln Project's social media and a person with handle @dadefirerico305 wrote this:
"This is their over the top plan to attempt to steal this election. Stay on alert .
First, Republicans need to make sure they’re in control of the House of Representatives on January 6th, 2025, when the new president will be certified. To do that, even though Democrats might have won enough seats to take back the House in the 2024 election, Speaker Johnson will refuse to swear into Congress on January 3rd a handful of those Democrats, claiming there are “irregularities” in their elections that must be first investigated.
That keeps Speaker “MAGA Moscow Mike” Johnson in charge of the House, so they can also refuse to accept the Electoral College certificates of election from a handful of states where they claim there are “problems.” Keep in mind, Johnson was the guy who organized the wave of 138 House members who voted not to certify Joe Biden’s election in January of 2020. That’s why Trump wanted him as speaker.
Then, regardless of how many votes Harris won by, electoral or popular, the House simply refuses to certify the electoral college votes of enough states that the minimum of 270 isn’t reached. Under the 12th Amendment, like with the election of 1876, that throws the election to the House, where each state has one vote. While a majority of Americans live in a state run by Democrats, a majority of the states themselves are run by Republicans.
Each state gets one vote for president in the House, and right now 26 state delegations are GOP-controlled, meaning that a majority of the House would simply vote to put Trump back into the White House, 26-23(Pennsylvania’s delegation is 50/50). All totally legal."
And I though...that is the most chilling thing I've ever read. I'm not sure how accurate a picture this is, as I'm not that educated on specific election laws, but if this *could* happen, the GOP's nonsense about election fraud and that elections don't matter? Horrifying. And I wouldn't put it past them to try to pull something like this off (if it can, in fact, be done).
I will never see voting as a burden. I have voted in every possible election for my entire life, and I want to continue to do so for the remainder of my time on earth. I had enough of authoritarian rule with my parents as I was growing up, and that is enough to turn me off on authoritarianism. I appreciate having the right to live my life as I see fit, in a comfortable way. Anything less than democracy wouldn't work for me. I am very disturbed by what is going on in so many states, including my state of Texas, where they are doing everything they can to deprive us of rights at the state level.
Ruth, that was an excellent discussion with Greg Sargent. His question about the origin of fascist leaders was a good one and you answered it well.
To expand on it a bit, I feel that fascism is the politics of the sociopathic mind. These people view themselves as demigods, so they have a lust for power and strive to attain their rightful place at the top of society. They view people as objects, not as worthy beings, which leads to the fascist concepts of social Darwinism, bigotry, scapegoating and punishment. Sociopaths do not have a conscience and this is also seen in the cold bloodedness of fascism. Sadism is seen in both sociopaths and in fascism. Sociopaths are skilled manipulators, so it makes perfect sense that fascists use slick propaganda to herd their flock. Sociopaths are unlawful and so we see this reflected in fascist thought, where leaders feel they are entitled to get away with crime.
The most disturbing aspect of a sociopath in power is that they don't view themselves as having a mental disorder. They see themselves as perfectly normal.
We tried Viognier ([vjɔɲje]) after my wife read an article claiming it was available at a slight discount in America relative to comparable wines - apparently some Americans are timid about asking for it because they're afraid of trying to pronounce it. I can't find the original article, so this'll hafta do for now: https://gismondionwine.com/blog/viognier-difficult-to-pronounce-but-easy-to-drink/ "If the growth of viognier sales has been stunted by anything it may be a pronunciation problem. In my experience if consumers cannot confidently pronounce the name of a wine the chances of it being purchased in any quantity is greatly diminished."
So true, distrust is a prerequisite for failing democracy. But what if they plan to steal the vote anyway? That's seeming more and more possible, based on MAGA activities in local elections.
Yes, and the inability to sort fact from fiction is also a prerequisite.
That’s my fear, too. That through voter suppression and intimidation as well as other chicanery, the Republicans will gain control.
Hi Ruth, thanks for this piece..observing what is going on with elections in Venezuela where the incumbent has lost the popular vote his followers are being kidnaped, assaulted and ridiculing protesters. I may be wrong but I accept the fact that US elections will result in the same type of outcome considering election deniers have been placed in critical positions, those folks in turn will not certify the election… thus tossing the election to the state legislatures and or Trumps Supreme Court.. needless to say I hope I am wrong..but I do see a pattern here among democracies attempting to survive under threats from authoritarians and their supporters.
Perhaps creating doubt is the real objective of troll farms (and volunteer trolls) and bots and companies like Cambridge Analytica. Whether or not they sway voters, they certainly introduce doubt about the integrity of the voting process.
I've seen academics argue back and forth on whether they influence the vote or simply engage people who already had a certain mindset. I don't think I've seen anybody argue that these tactics increase confidence in elections.
We’re not an autocracy YET! There are enough facts, consisting of the 62 court-cases proving NO evidence of election fraud in the 2020 election. Also, court-cases like Guiliani’s and FOX NEWS having to pay multi-millions of dollars for lying about the election; ACTUAL numbers of fraud cases found (not many at all) that tell the REAL story~ . Include with these numbers, the testimonies of many of Trump’s own Republican staff, like Chris Krebs, Director of Cyber Security during the 2020 election who proclaimed that the 2020 election was the “cleanest” election ever run. Facts still matter and numbers don’t lie! The Dems (Lincoln Project, etc) should make it their business to POUND these facts and numbers into the airwaves and cyber-spheres like FOX and all right-wing social media. We should NEVER stop purporting the facts and numbers repeatedly (just like Trump does) to prove the integrity of the 2020 elections, especially now, on the “eve” of the 2024 elections~!
But how do you get people in The Other Reality to open up to the possibility that they're been misled on these issues? 2000 Mules is a great example of what you're talking about. Quoting this substack* "first exposure matters more in forming opinions than any subsequent refutation or correction" You and I know that 2000 Mules was pulled from distribution because of a successful defamation suite that put 2000 Mules on the legal record as a lie (oversimplified, but you get the point). I bet that 10s of million of Americans still believe it.
* https://lucid.substack.com/p/how-to-push-back-against-propaganda-06f
Robert, I’m not familiar with 2000 mules but I’ll check it out. In the USA, it’s not a “crime” (like it is in Russia) to report the truth and call things as they are; not yet, anyway. I fully understand that MAGA is a cult, - but it doesn’t mean that the left should ever give up POUNDING away at the TRUTH: what REALLY happened in 2020. For every utterance from Trump’s lips that the 2020 election was stolen, how many times does anyone correct him or set “the record” straight? The “left”, and the media, for that matter, have failed miserably in any counter-offensive tactic. My point is that the NUMBERS AND FACTS are on our side and that’s so valuable! Again, numbers don’t lie…we just need to take a page out of Trump’s playbook and ‘pound it home’ - on FOX airwaves and right-wing media, - not just to set the record straight about 2020, - but to shore-up election integrity BEFORE the 2024 election!!! Our democracy depends on it!
Trump should by now have been on trial for inciting an insurrection and possessing classified documents without authorization. Merrick Garland is derelict in his responsibility to protect the American people. I hope that one of President Harris’ first actions is to replace Garland with a reputable prosecutor.
Former Senator Doug Jones, D-AL, was under consideration when Garland was settled for. Senator Jones would have been outstanding! Garland has been back-on his heels all these Biden years!
I think Garland was chosen to keep the peace, to not upset the apple cart, to counteract everything trump did with DOJ. Unfortunately, IMO that backfired big time. There should have been more aggressive pursuit of criminal charges and trials, because criminals should be tried, no matter who they are - even former presidents. I would like to see Doug Jones as AG. I think he would be good.
Have no idea what the job of Garland was supposed to be - other than independent of the White House. Biden did leave him alone and out of the picture. Garland may be an outstanding jurist but a weak administrator? He acted thoroughly and completely removed from any and all legal operations. Biden surely did not use the Department of Justice as his own legal office! As we had observed with Trump!
I think he was afraid of political repercussions, of being accused of being like trump's DOJ. He may also have been a weak administrator, I don't know.
I think Garland was given the AG role as a consolation prize for having been cheated out of the seat on the SC. He's not cut out for the role of prosecutor.
Very good point, Marycat2021. I agree with you, but still think he also didn't want to create any political repercussions.
I don't think that's the biggest factor, especially when there was a major congressional investigation of Trump's role in Jan 6th. I think Garland didn't want to look like an attack dog. It was about him, not politics.
Interesting. I can see where he wouldn't want to look like an attack dog.
Glenn, you need to listen to ULTRA and read PREQUEL to know the most recent history of American conservatives bullying the DOJ when the law is enforced on them. They hide behind the Constitution while undermining it.
Ruth, these facts are so frightening, and thanks for alerting us, again. Our VOTE seems to be the only act we can take, but we must keep speaking out and admitting the danger that lies ahead with Trump & Company. Must face this danger to all generations while Trump continues on his anti-American rage and desire for dictatorship, spreading it from coast-to-coast!
Ruth Ben-Ghiat: How prescient was Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky when, in "Crime and Punishment," Rashkolnikov had elevated the Great Man beyond the pale of the law, of judgment.
I am really hoping that a lot of disengaged people I know who fall into the Millennial category get inspired to vote. I know people who believe that their votes don't count anyway. It stems from a poor understanding of the electoral college, and math. The idea that one vote does not matter. Is missing the point that it is the collectivity of one votes that matter. Also, each vote represents a demographic I have tried to tell a friend. My demographic votes in high numbers and therefore politicians look at what are our concerns. The millennial malaise is one of the reasons we don't have universally paid for child care in the US and many other things that might help young families to have a better quality of life. Another fallacy I feel that these non-voters are operating under, is that if they don't vote their lives will still be fine. In other words, it does not make much difference who is in power because they are both going to be pretty much the same. As a middle class, White male to think that you will be just fine no matter who wins, is not so far from the truth, but again, there are individuals in this collectivity of White males. If you are White and male and not Christian you will not get to live your religious identity truthfully. If you are White and male and gay, you will not get to live your identity truthfully. Peter Thiel seems to miss this point, or think he is so special he will not be touched, because he clearly does not understand enough about the End of Days beliefs of the New Apostolic Reformers. Andra Watkins explains in her Substack how NAR have a different End of Days belief than White Christian Nationalists, and it matters. Here she discusses the difference. https://project2025istheocracy.substack.com/p/what-is-the-new-apostolic-reformation
Understanding this, one can see that the people who are NAR members which it appears Alito and Mike Johnson are, then you see that they believe that God will not come to earth until they have made everyone on the planet succumb to what they believe is the lifestyle he wants everyone to be living. Therefore they must use their positions of power to force their values on everyone else. No reward for them unless everyone is converted. Pornography is wrong. Good luck getting rid of that by their definition which includes being gay, or holding hands outside of marriage. https://project2025istheocracy.substack.com/p/this-is-how-christian-nationalists?utm_source=publication-search
Many states are already taking away the right to vote. We need to have a blue wave and make mandatory voter registration the law of the land, and remove barriers to voting as the law of the land.
Not voting for Democratic candidates means voting for Project 2025. I wish people considering abstention or a 3rd party candidate would realize this. The Democratic party may be imperfect in many ways, but (to me) the idea that it's equivalent to the current Republican party. . .is not even an idea. It a hollow bubble in the place where an idea should be. It's a complete failure to think and inform yourself.
Trump has pushed back on Project 2025 (or pretended to) and has even induced the Heritage Foundation to publicly back away from it (see https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/30/project-2025-director-paul-dans-leaves-heritage-foundation/). But this distancing is not about a change in policy. It's about not saying those parts out loud.
The people involved in Project 2025 are the past and possibly future inner circle of the Trump administration. Judd Legum has a good piece on this with a nice graphic: https://popular.info/p/what-trump-doesnt-want-you-to-know
And the scariest parts of Project 2025 are not the parts that are written down there. The scariest parts are the ideas, attitudes and motivations of the people who contributed to Project 2025, who came from Trump's previous administration and look forward to a Trump victory so they can finish the work they started and remove any roadblocks they encountered the previous time (pesky things like separation of powers, legal precedent, the parts of the Constitution they don't like, etc.)
I agree, and I have been pointing that out to people. I am in a Democrats Abroad book club group which is reading Project 2025. We are not reading it straight through but reading the parts that most interest us, so we can get a 10 bullet point handout to give to people at events that are happening now in Germany where I am mostly living. I think that it is also important to point out that Project 2025 is taking place in the Supreme Court and in Red States more but also some in Blue States. So, it will be more codified. We need to also be pointing out that there is a plan to end voting. Trump and his cronies want a king and find democracy and voting. very inconvenient for what some of the people in the party believe is righteous action. Trump is not religious just a mad for power and wealth.
Yeph, I penned a series of sunstacks on the Entirety of CONservative Leadership and their complicity in all of this.
I'm not good at explaining to those who are totally uninformed, so I shared this post with my daughter, who despises Trump but has no idea how dangerous he is.
So what can the international community do to support Venezuelans their righteous victory. I’m watching carefully as I’m certain this fiasco will happen in November. MAGA is prepared and the Bench is too.
I was watching an ad on The Lincoln Project's social media and a person with handle @dadefirerico305 wrote this:
"This is their over the top plan to attempt to steal this election. Stay on alert .
First, Republicans need to make sure they’re in control of the House of Representatives on January 6th, 2025, when the new president will be certified. To do that, even though Democrats might have won enough seats to take back the House in the 2024 election, Speaker Johnson will refuse to swear into Congress on January 3rd a handful of those Democrats, claiming there are “irregularities” in their elections that must be first investigated.
That keeps Speaker “MAGA Moscow Mike” Johnson in charge of the House, so they can also refuse to accept the Electoral College certificates of election from a handful of states where they claim there are “problems.” Keep in mind, Johnson was the guy who organized the wave of 138 House members who voted not to certify Joe Biden’s election in January of 2020. That’s why Trump wanted him as speaker.
Then, regardless of how many votes Harris won by, electoral or popular, the House simply refuses to certify the electoral college votes of enough states that the minimum of 270 isn’t reached. Under the 12th Amendment, like with the election of 1876, that throws the election to the House, where each state has one vote. While a majority of Americans live in a state run by Democrats, a majority of the states themselves are run by Republicans.
Each state gets one vote for president in the House, and right now 26 state delegations are GOP-controlled, meaning that a majority of the House would simply vote to put Trump back into the White House, 26-23(Pennsylvania’s delegation is 50/50). All totally legal."
And I though...that is the most chilling thing I've ever read. I'm not sure how accurate a picture this is, as I'm not that educated on specific election laws, but if this *could* happen, the GOP's nonsense about election fraud and that elections don't matter? Horrifying. And I wouldn't put it past them to try to pull something like this off (if it can, in fact, be done).
I will never see voting as a burden. I have voted in every possible election for my entire life, and I want to continue to do so for the remainder of my time on earth. I had enough of authoritarian rule with my parents as I was growing up, and that is enough to turn me off on authoritarianism. I appreciate having the right to live my life as I see fit, in a comfortable way. Anything less than democracy wouldn't work for me. I am very disturbed by what is going on in so many states, including my state of Texas, where they are doing everything they can to deprive us of rights at the state level.
Ruth, that was an excellent discussion with Greg Sargent. His question about the origin of fascist leaders was a good one and you answered it well.
To expand on it a bit, I feel that fascism is the politics of the sociopathic mind. These people view themselves as demigods, so they have a lust for power and strive to attain their rightful place at the top of society. They view people as objects, not as worthy beings, which leads to the fascist concepts of social Darwinism, bigotry, scapegoating and punishment. Sociopaths do not have a conscience and this is also seen in the cold bloodedness of fascism. Sadism is seen in both sociopaths and in fascism. Sociopaths are skilled manipulators, so it makes perfect sense that fascists use slick propaganda to herd their flock. Sociopaths are unlawful and so we see this reflected in fascist thought, where leaders feel they are entitled to get away with crime.
The most disturbing aspect of a sociopath in power is that they don't view themselves as having a mental disorder. They see themselves as perfectly normal.
The podcast was fantastic! However, I grabbed a Viognier instead of a chamomile. It was a nice pairing.
Oh! Someone knows wines.
We tried Viognier ([vjɔɲje]) after my wife read an article claiming it was available at a slight discount in America relative to comparable wines - apparently some Americans are timid about asking for it because they're afraid of trying to pronounce it. I can't find the original article, so this'll hafta do for now: https://gismondionwine.com/blog/viognier-difficult-to-pronounce-but-easy-to-drink/ "If the growth of viognier sales has been stunted by anything it may be a pronunciation problem. In my experience if consumers cannot confidently pronounce the name of a wine the chances of it being purchased in any quantity is greatly diminished."
I sure hope enough voters are listening to you Ruth.
Vote vote vote. Please my amercian friends.
International subscriber.