Dear John,

Confusion is the new persuasion.

If you’ve watched the debates you may have noticed President Trump and Vice President Pence don’t seem to be working too hard to appeal to undecided voters. They spend most of their time trying to make Joe Biden seem scary and sounding political dog whistles to their base.

If not trying to win votes seems odd to you, it is. But it’s not new.

In 2018, Steve Bannon referred to this strategy as ‘flooding the zone with sh*t’. It’s the classic right-wing ‘both-sides’ strategy, but on steroids. It’s designed to make an unpopular candidate squeak through an election by firing-up right-wing base voters, goading the left to fight with itself, and discouraging swing voters from voting. The trick is to make every option seem bad, or making voting itself seem futile.

They know they can’t win when everyone votes.

Unfortunately, their confusion machine is not yet fully ramped up. And it likely won’t stop on Election Day.

This is where this week’s strategy, our fourth, comes to the rescue: follow credible reporters.

There is a non-zero chance that President Trump will challenge the outcome of the election, even if he has clearly lost. During that period, he’ll likely try to spread doubts and confusion in every direction he can. In particular, he may question the validity of voting in a handful of states: Minnesota included.

One antidote to this is to listen to people who work full-time sorting out facts from fiction.

This is a thing you can do this weekend. Follow credible reporters on social media. Get familiar with their work. If and when confusion ramps up, their work will help drive us toward clarity.

We have an embarrassing number of excellent journalists in Minnesota.

First, there are the scrappy upstarts:

Follow @SahanJournal, Mukhtar Ibrahim (@mukhtaryare), and Becky Dernbach (@bzosiad). They report for and about immigrants & refugees in MN.

The Minnesota Reformer are independent muckrakers covering original stories on politics, protest, and education. Follow Ricardo Lopez (@rljourno), Max Nesterak (@maxnesterak), and Rilyn Eischens (@rilyneischens).

Then Pioneer Press and the Star Tribune have experienced teams that go deeper than what you get at the press conference. Check out Nick Woltman (@nickwoltman) and Fredrick Melo (@FredrickMelo) at the Pioneer Press.

The Star Tribune team is deep: Briana Bierschbach (@bbierschbach), Jessie Van Burkel (@jessvanb), Torey Van Oot (@toreyvanoot), Patrick Condon (@patrickcondon), and Kevin Diaz (@DiazUpNorth). John Reinan (@StribGuy) covers their Greater Minnesota stories. Jeff Hargarten (@JeffHargarten) covers data & elections.

Dana Ferguson (@bydanaferguson) and Sarah Mearhoff (@sarah_mearhoff) cover a range of beats for the Forum News Service. Read them.

The Minnesota Public Radio team knows their stuff. Follow Riham Feshir (@RihamFeshir) covering race & immigration, Tim Nelson (@timnelson_mpr), Matt Sepic (@msepic), Brian Bakst (@stowydad), Angela Davis (@AngelaDavisMPR), Tim Pugmire (@timpugmire), and Laura Yuen (@laura_yuen). 

And don’t forget the independents like Greta Kaul (@gretakaul) and Peter Callaghan (@CallaghanPeter) at @minnpost. Susan Du (@shijundu), Mike Mullen (@mikemullen_), and Hannah Jones (@reporterjones) write for City Pages. Sally Jo Sorenson (@sallyjos) covers southern Minnesota. Aaron Brown (@minnesotabrown) covers northern Minnesota. Tony Webster (@webster) digs deep on public records and fights the good fights.

Finally, to add to this feast, Minnesota has a bounty of photojournalists like Dymanh Chhoun (@dymanh) at WCCO, Mark Vancleave (@MNVancleave), and Glen Stubbe (@gspphoto) at the Star Tribune. Caroline Yang (@yangfoto) and Evan Frost (@efrostee) both do great work at MPR.

Seriously, shut off your TV this election season. Follow & read these reporters.

Here’s what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this week: 

1. Presidential Election

In 2020, we hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Read what if Trump loses and won’t leave? Then read TakeAction’s latest blog post.

2. Domestic Terrorism

This week the Dept. of Homeland Security identified white supremacist extremists as the deadliest domestic terror threat in the U.S. Learn more.

3. Kidnap Plot

Case in point: this deeper dive on the right-wing extremist plan to kidnap & murder Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Read it here.

4. COVID-19

Minnesota stands out. The latest state-by-state tallies of COVID-19 cases per capita reflect a troubling trend: the upper Midwest is getting worse (except for Minnesota). #MaskUpMN See it in the New York Times.

5. Black Feminist Guide

In a Black Feminist framework, no person is disposable. Learn how Black feminism is shaping politics with a worldview that’s visionary and pragmatic. Listen and bookmark.

6. George Floyd

A deeply important Washington post piece on was published this week on systemic racism and George Floyd’s life going generations back. See it here. And read this poem.

7. Music

"I want to immortalize their dignity,” said songwriter Tré Burt about “Under the Devil’s Knee,” a song for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Listen now.

8. People's Charter

Progressives unveiled a policy agenda for 2021 to respond to the compounding crises our nation faces *that can be solved*. Read about it and see the agenda.

9. TikTok Star

Nathan Apodaca is the TikTok star with the good vibes we didn’t even know we need. Enjoy his charming story.

10. Halloween

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Bookmark the best Halloween movies on Netflix.

That’s a wrap. Let us know how you’re doing.

--Kenza Hadj-Moussa & Chris Conry