As NewsBusters reported Monday, African-American actress Stacey Dash was thoroughly lambasted on Twitter for expressing her support for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
During an interview with CNN's Piers Morgan Tuesday, a defiant Dash marvelously said, "I chose him not by the color of his skin but the content of his character" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
PIERS MORGAN, HOST: The extraordinary thing is the tweet that you put out under @REALStaceyDash – your follower count has been up by nearly 30,000, so congratulations – but you said, “Vote for Romney, the only choice for your future.” Hardly the most scandalous thing ever. Let me ask you this: Do you think it’s purely because you are a famous black woman, or is it because you are an actress and there aren’t many actresses full stop who are Republicans? What do you think has been the predominant factor in the fury?
STACEY DASH: You know, I really don’t understand the fury. I don’t understand it. I don’t get it?
MORGAN: Were you shocked, were you saddened, were you angry?
DASH: Yeah, I was shocked, not angry. Saddened and shocked. Really shocked, but you know what? You can’t expect everyone to agree with you.
MORGAN: These people here, this is somebody who tweeted, “You're an unemployed black woman endorsing Mitt Romney. You're voting against yourself thrice, you poor beautiful idiot.” And somebody else just put, “Kill yourself, you old hag.”
DASH: Wow, really?
MORGAN: I mean, really disgusting tweets.
DASH: That is. That's pretty harsh.
MORGAN: You say you don't feel angry but what do you feel? I mean, do you feel offended by this?
MORGAN: You think it's stupid?
DASH: Just come on. You know? I don't feel offended. I just feel that, you know, as a country, this is my choice. This is the man I want to lead my country. It is my right as an American citizen. It's my Constitutional right to have my choice of who I want to vote for for president.
MORGAN: And I think you should be allowed to have it.
DASH: And I chose him not by the color of his skin but the content of his character.
PIERS MORGAN, HOST: Have you heard from Mitt Romney at all?
DASH: Yes, well not Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan.
MORGAN: Paul Ryan rang you today?
DASH: Yes, he did.
MORGAN: What did he say?
DASH: He said, “Thank you so much for your support,” and that I was brave, and they support me, and I thought that was so generous and kind. You know? Lovely. Really
MORGAN: Have any of the Obama campaign been on?
DASH: No, they haven’t.
MORGAN: What does it say to you about the state of the political discourse and the debate in America that one innocuous tweet from you, purely because you’re an actress and the color of your skin, sparked this kind of mayhem?
DASH: I think it tells me that our, the state of our country is that we are not united. You know? We need to be united, and we all need to understand that we’re all capable of achieving the American dream. And, but that has to be something that is self-realized. And also to demonize someone for achieving the American dream is unfair.
For those missing the "character" reference, Dash was referring to Martin Luther King Jr.'s line from his famous "I Have a Dream Speech" when he said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Brava, Stacey! Brava!
Also of note, earlier in the interview, Dash told Morgan that she's a Democrat who voted for Barack Obama in 2008. She's voting for Romney now "because of the state of the country and I want the next four years to be different."
Dash came to this decision while watching the Romneys on NBC's Meet the Press a few weeks ago.
"They spoke to me and they seemed authentic and genuine in what they said about this country and the need for us to be united and move forward," Dash said.
