Matt Taibbi
Role at the time: Journalist and author of the Racket News newsletter
Condemned
Response to this claim
On November 19, 2018, Cea Weaver posted: “Impoverish the white middle class. Homeownership is racist / failed public policy.”
““Impoverish the white middle class” is fascinating because it shows the belief system isn’t about elevating historically disadvantaged groups, it’s something much weirder, and race-based.”
Read the original post (opens in a new tab)Matt Taibbi post on Cea Weaver's "impoverish the white middle class" post · Matt TaibbiOriginal post body (quote post of a Michelle Tandler post reproducing Weaver's wording)
Why we used this label
The reference point is Weaver's November 2018 post calling to "impoverish the white middle class" and her related homeownership remarks. Taibbi rejects the stated goal by describing it as race-based rather than as help for disadvantaged groups, so we labeled it Condemned. Challenged the characterization is the closest alternative, but he does not dispute how the post has been described; he criticizes what it says. Evidence level: Taibbi's own post.