Miss USA’s comments on health care touched off a firestorm and yesterday she clarified – but stood by them. Good for her.

Kara McCullough, who was crowned Miss USA on Sunday, keeps the beauty title in the nation’s capital for the second year in a row. As we reported yesterday, people went wild for her because she is an attractive, intelligent black woman, who chose to wear natural curly hair for the contest instead of other coifed styles and she won. However, her comments on health care and feminism poked the progressive hive and the angry bees flew out in swarms.

Now, McCullough took to ABC’s Good Moring America to clarify her statements but most commendably,  she stood by them. Talking to host Michael Strahan, she started out saying she owns the statements she made, but wasn’t surprised by the backlash because this is America and, “That's what America is based on, like having opinions and views."

McCullough did clarify her answers. On whether health care is a privilege or a right, she clarified what she meant:

"I am privileged to have health care and I do believe that it should be a right," McCullough, 25, said today on "Good Morning America." "I hope and pray moving forward that health care is a right for all worldwide."

She continued, "I just want people to see where I was coming from. Having a job, I have to look at health care like it is a privilege."

And on her preference of “equalism” over “feminism” she explained:

"For me, where I work at with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ‘equalism’ is more of a term of understanding that no matter your gender, you are still just kind of given the same accolades on your work," McCullough said today. "I believe that if a person does a good job, they should be, you know, credited for that in a sense."

She added, "I don’t want anyone to look at it as if I’m not all about women’s rights, because I am. We deserve a lot when it comes to opportunity in the workplace as well as just like leadership positions. I’ve seen and witnessed firsthand the impact that women have."

She’s digging in and focusing on the opportunity that exists as well as what is still needed. As she started out saying, this is America and it’s a place where there will be differing views. Unfortunately, those who promote diversity too often stop at diversity of thought or philosophy.

McCullough defies the political stereotypes and for that she is being pilloried on social media by people challenging her intelligence. If anything, these critics are doing more damage to progress by tearing down a great role model for people of color and women.

Once again, we’re reminded that for many on the left, if you don’t ascribe to group think, you get bullied out of the group.