Earlier this month, Stacey Dash announced that she was running for Congress in California’s 44th district to make a real impact. More specifically, she wanted “to change the system” and make it “real and accessible to everyone who wants answers,” stated the former actress.
But now, just a few weeks later, Dash said she won’t be running, mainly because of the cutthroat political process and concern for her family.
“My goal was and remains, to improve the lives of people who have been forgotten for decades by the Democratic Party,” she wrote in a statement. “At this point, I believe that the overall bitterness surrounding our political process, participating in the rigors of campaigning and holding elected office would be detrimental to the health and well-being of my family.”
The 44th district includes Compton, as well as Watts, and the economic challenges in both of those communities have been well-documented. However, Dash said the leaders in the district haven’t done anything besides provide false hope, and she wants to change that, despite pulling out of the race.
“I started this run with the intention to address the pressing issues in the district where I live,” she wrote. “I hope, and remain hopeful, that I can assist people living here on the national level.”
“I believe we live under a system of plantation politics, which offers people on the lower end of the economic spectrum little more than symbolic gestures instead of true political empowerment and improvement,” Dash continued. “The high crime rate, unacceptable high school dropout rate and decaying infrastructure are all problems that could receive federal attention and funds. But not if we focus on distractions and partisanship instead.”
It’s not clear where Dash will pop up next to spew her political rhetoric. Last January she was booted from Fox News as a commentator since her contract wasn’t renewed.
During her time at the network, the “Clueless” star ruffled many a feather, especially when she criticized the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag and said that BET perpetuated racism.
But Dash has never taken her words back or tried to soften them any, which she addressed in her recent statement about dropping out of the congressional race.
“My political positions have often been labeled as controversial,” she stated. “But the real controversy is how decades of government corruption and political disempowerment have created a system where skyrocketing home prices, dirty needles in the streets and long bus trips to other districts for jobs are somehow considered acceptable by the government officials representing the 44th district.”
“The people living here deserve better,” added Dash. “I will continue to speak out about these and other problems facing this district, as well as the distractions that take the place of real change.”
Dash didn’t reveal what she’ll do from here but seems to have it worked out already. [“I’m going] where I feel God is leading me,” she wrote.
