The Mouse That Litigated
The Mouse That Litigated
Ron DeSantis thought he was going to take on Disney and beat them without taking any political hits for it. Whoops.
Never go to war with a multi-billion company with a history of litigating…..
Just over a year ago, I wrote about how Ron DeSantis was making a mess of things with his vendetta ride against Disney.
The rapid drive to disestablish the Reedy Creek Improvement District is led by DeSantis, no doubt related to his plans to run for President in 2024. Disney spoke out against the Parental Rights in Education Act (the pejoratively named “Don’t Say Gay” bill), so DeSantis decided to turn the power of the state against Disney. The bill, if passed, will eliminate all of the protections and benefits Disney has had since 1967.
And it is a terrible mistake.
Little did we know how much of a terrible mistake it would be as the whole matter has now landed in the courts:
Walt Disney Co sued Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, asking a court to overturn state efforts to control Disney World and intensifying a battle between a global entertainment giant and a likely White House contender.
In its lawsuit, Disney accused DeSantis and his supporters of illegally using the state government to punish a company for voicing an opinion that should be protected by free-speech rights….
….In the action filed in federal court in Tallahassee, Disney said it aimed to protect Disney World's employees, guests and developers from "retaliation for expressing a political viewpoint unpopular with certain State officials."
"Disney now is forced to defend itself against a State weaponizing its power to inflict political punishment," the company said.
The concept that DeSantis and company used the state government to punish a company for voicing an opinion protected by free-speech rights is painfully apparent and has practically been admitted by DeSantis and everybody working on the Disney issue within his administration. The fact that the disestablishment of Reedy Creek and the placement of Disney under the jurisdiction of a new government-created board solely because of their opposing a DeSantis Administration initiative is beyond contestation.
Will the federal courts side with Disney or DeSantis? It’s hard to say, but this entire Disney debacle shows just how far Ron DeSantis has gotten over his skis on this Disney issue.
DeSantis finds himself fighting a two-front political war, but the fronts merge in places that hurt DeSantis politically. One of the reasons DeSantis took on Disney was in an effort to improve his “conservative” bonafides with the large segment of Republican primary voters who look to Donald Trump for their political philosophy.
But while DeSantis fights Disney on one front, his political opponents are attacking him on another front over his dealings with Disney. Like Nikki Haley for example.
Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley dangled a relocation offer for Disney: South Carolina.
“Hey @Disney, my home state will happily accept your 70,000+ jobs if you want to leave Florida,” the former South Carolina governor tweeted on Wednesday.
Former President Donald Trump weighed in on the Ron DeSantis-Disney feud, not by siding with the company's tolerance policies, but by invoking fear of an economic apocalypse.
"Disney's next move will be the announcement that no more money will be invested in Florida because of the Governor — In fact, they could even announce a slow withdrawal or sale of certain properties, or the whole thing. Watch! That could be a killer," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
Ramaswamy accused DeSantis of not actually standing up to The Walt Disney Company but using the battle to gain political points for his presidential run. He claimed that after the headlines of DeSantis’s Reedy Creek legislation made waves in conservative media, the Republican Governor stopped caring.
“Once the headlines are gone, guess what Disney actually does? They quietly undermine that board,” Ramaswamy said. “They just put in place restrictive covenants that would effectively render that board useless for the next 30 years. Interesting how that happens. News headline happens, then the real thing happens, the corporation at issue wins the day.”
"I'm a conservative, and I believe as a conservative, the job of government is... to stay out of the business of business," former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie told digital news outlet Semafor in a Tuesday interview, adding: "I don't think Ron DeSantis is a conservative based on his actions towards Disney."
DeSantis’s Presidential opponents smell blood in the water over this
While DeSantis is getting attacked by Republican opponents, the fight against Disney is not playing well in Florida, nor will it ultimately play well in a general election if DeSantis ends up the Republican nominee.
Last year, I wrote:
There are perfectly valid and good reasons for discussing the elimination of Reedy Creek over the course of time for Disney, Orange County, and Osceola County to properly plan for the orderly transition of costs and responsibilities. But doing this now, with an accelerated timeframe of 2023, is a half-cocked idea hatched solely for political purposes that will hurt businesses and taxpayers across Florida.
Now, the state is on the hook for litigation against Disney at taxpayer expense, to say nothing about what costs may be incurred by taxpayers as this transition ultimately plays out.
Ron DeSantis thought he was going to take on Disney and beat them without taking any political hits for it. The reality of the situation is starting to make it clear that this is not going to be the case. Disney’s court action is going to linger over Florida and, more importantly in DeSantis’s mind, his 2024 Presidential Campaign.