Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been feuding with Disney ever since the company called out his super-bigoted “Don’t Say Gay” law. And in an apparent attempt to de-woke-ify the company and return it to the days when its movies were still undeniably wholesome racist, DeSantis sought to strip away its long-held authority to control its own operations, attempting to transfer oversight of the Reedy Creek Improvement District—the special tax district Walt Disney World occupies—to his hand-selected cronies.
Then, proving that it’s traditionally been pretty easy to outsmart people who are monomaniacally focused on petty revenge, Disney struck back, cleverly locking in covenant agreements that took power from DeSantis’ new board and reverted control to Disney—until “21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of England’s King Charles III.” Basically forever, in other words.
RELATED STORY: Mouse makes DeSantis scream
While it was a metaphysical certitude that a MAGA conservative would eventually get in a dustup with a cartoon mouse, most of us thought it would involve Randy Quaid relentlessly groin-punching Chuck E. Cheese over a loose Good ‘n’ Plenty that rolled underneath the broken Skee-Ball game. But instead it’s the very serious Gov. DeSantis, pouring sugar (and acid) into one of his state’s main economic engines.
After realizing he’d been humiliated by the woke (i.e., not half-asleep, like him) mob, DeSantis announced Monday that he simply wouldn’t stand still for Disney’s subterfuge.
NBC News:
In a letter to Florida's chief inspector general released Monday, DeSantis asked for an investigation into the legality of a February declaration approved by the board that oversaw the Reedy Creek Improvement District. That declaration appears to give Walt Disney World direct corporate power to plan and develop the area.
DeSantis further calls for an investigation into the qualifications of that board’s leadership, as well as any potential involvement of Disney employees and agents in executing the new document, and new communications between Disney and the board.
And with that, Disney CEO Bob Iger has seen enough. He’s finally hit back at DeSantis with new comments about the crusading culture warrior’s apparent anti-business bent.
RELATED STORY: Polling shows GOP war on 'woke' isn't exactly a winner
During the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Monday, Iger took aim at DeSantis and his attempts to muzzle Disney.
“A year ago, the company took a position on pending Florida legislation,” Iger said in apparent reference to DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” law. “And while the company may have not handled the position that it took very well, a company has a right to freedom of speech just like individuals do.”
RELATED STORY: DeSantis to expand Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' law to all grades
“The governor got very angry about the position Disney took and seems like he’s decided to retaliate against us, including the naming of a new board to oversee the property and the business,” Iger continued. “In effect, to seek to punish a company for its exercise of a constitutional right. And that just seems really wrong to me.”
Then Iger hit DeSantis between the eyes: “Our point on this is that any action that supports those efforts simply to retaliate for a position the company took sounds not just anti-business, but it sounds anti-Florida. And I’ll just leave it at that.”
Iger also noted that Disney is not just the state’s biggest private employer, but also its top taxpayer; Team Mickey also plans to spend $17 billion in Florida over the next 10 years, all while creating thousands more jobs.
So maybe it’s not such a great idea to make the company feel unwelcome, Meatball Ron.
Conservatives love to pretend corporations are people with inalienable free-speech rights while those companies are shoveling unlimited cash into their campaign coffers—but certainly not if they’re going to use their actual voices to defend marginalized folks from a hateful legislature. When that happens, the government simply must retaliate.
Clearly, DeSantis cares much less about Florida’s economy than gilding his MAGA bona fides ahead of near-certain 2024 presidential run. His actions are eerily reminiscent of the feral reign of former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who took a blowtorch to Wisconsin schools in order to energize his conservative base and ride the resultant wave of enthusiasm to a—bwahahahahaha!—less than 0.5% showing in 2016 GOP primary polls.
Speaking of polls:
Like Walker in 2016, DeSantis appears perfectly happy to kill Florida businesses—and the state’s residents, of course—to position himself as the most careless and callow unindicted presidential candidate in America.
Will it work? Probably not. But hey, at least we’ll always have those pudding laughs.
Sign the petition: Denounce Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Republicans, and all they are doing to push a right-wing agenda.
Check out Aldous J. Pennyfarthing’s four-volume Trump-trashing compendium, including the finale, Goodbye, Asshat: 101 Farewell Letters to Donald Trump, at this link. Or, if you prefer a test drive, you can download the epilogue to Goodbye, Asshat for the low, low price of FREE.