West Palm Beach, Florida. “Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is battling one of America’s most recognizable cultural icons in a feud with potential repercussions far beyond Florida.”
DeSantis’ decision to prosecute Walt Disney Co. for opposing a bill banning the teaching of gender issues to children younger than third-graders – dubbed “gay” by its enemies – opens a new front in growing cultural wars waged by senior Republican officials across the country in an interim election year. In states from Texas to California, Republicans are increasingly turning to issues important to their base, such as abortion rights, medical care for transgender youth, and teaching the influence of race on American law. In some cases, they severely restrict or prohibit these things.
This particular clash involves two of Florida’s most powerful monsters: the governor, who made a name for himself with Trump’s “cut and burn” policy; and Disney, the entertainment giant that is one of the largest and most influential employers in the state. Under pressure from its employees, Disney condemned the bill – but disappointed some by not backing down any further.
DeSantis ‘crusade against Disney could earn him points among national conservatives as he plans to run for president in 2024. His spokesman and national conservatives are attacking enemies of the bill, officially known as the Parents’ Rights Education Act. “Prepare children exposed to the teaching of sexual identity to ‘separate’ them from normative sexual and gender identity,” said Ron Drecher of the American Conservative, who called the Democrats “the Groomers’ Party.” Fox’s Laura Ingraham, meanwhile, says Disney is better prepared to challenge its trademarks and copyrights when Republicans return to power.
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However, Florida observers – some Republicans – say DeSantis is taking a risk by colliding with Disney in his hometown.
“It’s a politically foolish move, but he will use it as a currency in Republican politics today to say it’s a war on wakefulness,” said David Jolie, a former Republican congressman from Florida who serves in Washington. with DeSantis. “Disney will be fine. But that shows Americans that Ron DeSantis is a glass-jawed governor who can’t stand criticism. That’s what it’s all about, nothing more. “
Democrats in Florida, who have long criticized the cozy relationship between Disney lobbyists and Republican MPs in Tallahassee, say DeSantis may have gone too far in his cultural war.
“It’s inexplicable that the governor is pursuing the state’s largest employer, which attracts millions of visitors from around the world and is a huge part of our tourism industry,” said Joseph Geller, a Miami state spokesman. “They call Disney the third railroad in Florida for a reason.”
Geller, a Democrat, said more puzzling was the way DeSantis and his supporters attacked Disney, tacitly linking the company to “thugs” who endanger children.
“Even more shocking is that they resurrected these old rumors,” Geller said. “He plays at his base, but I think it’s a shrinking base. Disney is a huge force for good in this state and is one of the best popular brands in the world. Attacking them this way is really hard to understand. “
The feud also provoked a backlash from the Disney family.
Abigail Disney, whose grandfather Roy O. Disney co-founded the company with his brother Walt, said the state’s special treatment of the company should be considered, but not because of a Republican-preferred law.
“This time, the far-right political machine seems to have slipped off its skis. Politicians need to ask whether Disney or another corporation will support them in the next election, given these threats of arbitrary punishment by a potential Republican administration, “she wrote in a Washington Post this week.
Charlie Disney, the child of Abigail’s brother Disney Roy, went public this week as a transsexual and also condemned Florida’s law.
The controversy revolves around legislation banning teaching or classroom discussions “Sexual orientation or gender identity” for kindergartens to third-graders in public schools. It also gives parents the right to sue school districts for exercises they do not like, and requires schools to notify parents when their child receives mental health services.
Critics say the law is vague and will have a chilling effect on how teachers in each class can answer questions from students that address issues such as same-sex marriage. They also worry that this could prevent schools from being a safe place for students who may not feel comfortable talking about sexual orientation at home or who are bullied at school.
Democrats called it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, and the phrase became a rallying cry for protesters and opponents across the nation, angering the governor. DeSantis angrily scolded a reporter who used the term at a press conference, accusing him of “selling fake stories.”
“Is that what the bill says?” Is that what the bill says? ”DeSantis asked in the heated exchange.
DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw promoted her own name for the bill, calling it the Anti-Haircut Bill.
“If you’re against the anti-haircut bill, you’re probably a groomer, or at least you don’t condemn haircuts for 4-8-year-olds,” Pushaw wrote on Twitter.
The Ministry of Justice’s information on child exploitation describes haircuts as a process that “promotes a false sense of trust and authority over a child in order to reduce or break a child’s resistance to sexual abuse.”
President Joe Biden also joined in, calling it a “hate bill” as it was debated, and said after it was passed that “my administration will continue to fight for dignity and opportunity for every student and family – in Florida and in the whole country “
DeSantis signed the bill on March 28. That day, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek issued a statement saying the bill “… should never have been passed and should never have been signed.” Our goal as a company is to have this law repealed by the legislature or rejected in court. “
Many Disney officials have criticized Chapek for not doing enough and for waiting too long to publicly oppose the bill.
But DeSantis was angry, saying Disney had “crossed the line.”
The governor then attacked Disney on issues ranging from his relationship with China to the content of the entertainment he offered, targeting what he called “a whole host of things.” He broke people in California who work very high in that company.
“What comes out of their mouths is amazing that they see programming as a way to inject many of these topics into programming for very young children,” DeSantis said in March.
He said the legislature was reassessing Disney’s special tax status in Florida, considering “some of the things that have been truly unique to Disney for many, many decades, where essentially this one corporation has been put on a pedestal and treated differently.” .. we should not allow one company to have its own set of rules compared to all the others. ”
It’s Disney part of a tourist mecca that has an estimated economic impact of $ 75.2 billion in Central Florida. The company has donated millions to politicians in the state, mostly Republicans.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers say the Republican-led lawmaker in Florida will not repeal the new law and that Disney’s special tax status is just as unlikely to be repealed.
But the dispute shows no signs of stopping.
“It’s like your mom and dad fighting at the dinner table.” said State Senator Jeff Brandes. “Both play a key role in the country. Florida without Disney is damaged. And Florida without a strong governor is weak. The key is to figure out how to get beyond that and work together. “
Brandes, one of two Republicans opposed to the controversial bill, said it would be a “stupid mistake” for the state to try to interfere in Disney’s business.
But other lawmakers agree with DeSantis. State spokesman Spencer Roach (right) said it was time for Florida to treat Disney like any other business. Legislation signed in 1967 at the urging of Disney lobbyists created a 25,000-acre Reedy Creek improvement area in two counties of Florida, allowing the company to create its own development and other rules.
Roach wants to repeal the law that created Reedy Creek. He said he had met with other GOP lawmakers who agreed. Some have returned donations to Disney for their campaigns after the company criticized the new law.
“Disney was really politically untouchable in the state of Florida. “They were such a political giant that the abolition of Reedy Creek was never considered possible,” Roach said. “Now there is an opportunity when Disney is politically weakened, and there is an opportunity to correct what I would define as a historic aberration of the free market.
DeSantis, Roach said, is the only politician who can do that.
“DeSantis is a very popular governor in Florida,” Roach said. “He’s certainly not the governor you want to joke with.
So far, DeSantis has not announced any official offers specific to Disney. He mocked the efforts of New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) to attract Florida residents to New York. Adams sai thde City was buying space on five digital billboards in major Florida cities, “condemning the hateful” law.
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