Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Takes Aim at Disney
There was a time when Republicans stood for small limited government and thought taxation was theft. However, if you’re Ron DeSantis, you buck the Republican ideology and use your political power to pick a fight with Florida’s largest corporation, Disney.
This legislative session, the Florida legislature passed the Parental Rights in Education bill. Also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, it limits the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools and how much say parents should have in their children’s education.
Critics of the bill spoke out ahead of and after DeSantis signed the bill into law, including Disney CEO Bob Chapek. In a statement released by the Walt Disney Company, Chapek stated:
“Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law. Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that.”
Less than a month later, the Florida Legislature returned to Tallahassee for a special session to vote on congressional maps penned by DeSantis. Instead, however, the Legislature arrived with a new agenda: to punish Mickey Mouse for speaking out against the Don’t Say Gay bill.
It is worth noting that Disney is one of Florida’s largest employers and most significant contributors to the tourism industry in the Sunshine State.
During the special session, legislators voted on a bill to revoke Disney’s special district status. Known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the special district was created in 1967 and operates as its own independent government through board appointments, who supervise the district, and also pay taxes to the counties where some of Walt Disney World parks are located. Reedy Creek provides public services, including having its own firefighters, power plant, wastewater service, and road building and maintenance. Essentially, Disney self-governs and collects/pays taxes, ensuring all the Disney parks continue running smoothly without costing Floridians who live in the counties surrounding the parks a tax increase for the parks’ operation.
The law to strip Disney of its special district status passed in the GOP-led Senate 23–16 and a day later by the state’s GOP-led House, 70–38. At first glance, DeSantis’s fight with Disney adds to the growing list of culture wars being waged by Republicans across the country. However, the DeSantis/Mickey feud is more than a culture war. It is the GOP sending a clear message they no longer care about small limited government and are in resounding support of higher taxes.
The Reedy Creek Improvement District is set to be abolished on June 1, 2023. Should the law go into effect, the burden would fall to Floridians living in Central Florida and property taxes would skyrocket.
For Florida Republicans, the war on Mickey Mouse is a bad look for a party who once supported the stance that corporations are people and took a victory lap on the Supremes ruling on Citizens United.
Now that a corporation such as Disney is acting like a person, the GOP isn’t a fan and they are looking to punish Disney.
Another point worth noting is the hypocrisy of the Republicans saying they are for small limited government and don’t appreciate the government getting involved in big business. Yet, here we are. DeSantis’s fight with Disney is a prime example of the government getting involved in big business.
While the histrionics of the Florida GOP continue at Hollywood movie levels, they feign outrage over Disney and use it as a fundraising tool to keep their war chests overflowing to the point even Scrooge McDuck would be envious.
In a hotly contested midterm election and a governor who is already teeing up his 2024 presidential campaign, it is hard to ignore that the future of the GOP is not a party that stands for small limited government and believes taxation is theft. Instead, the new Republican party is best defined as Schrödinger’s cat of politics. They want to have it both ways as long as it suits their agenda and lines their campaign accounts.
Mickey Mouse may be the latest casualty in the GOP culture war, but he’s not the last. Florida voters should take note of who is quietly raising taxes and punishing companies for speaking out before stepping into the voting booth this November.