Ron DeSantis and Disney have been sharpening their knives in the fight over a bill with a plurality of names! weather it be the don't say gay bill or the anti groomer bill the fact appears to be that the Florida governor might get the last word in with a massive blow to Disney's already reeling economy!

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Here is an analysis of the situation in Florida from Electoral Vote:

Florida Punishes Disney for WrongThink

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) warned that it was coming, and he wasn't kidding. Because he is mad at the Disney Corporation, the Governor ordered the Florida legislature to pass legislation threatening to take away the Mouse's special quasi-governmental status in the Sunshine State. Whenever DeSantis tells the legislature to do something these days, they do it and then say "Thank you sir, may I have another?" So, they promptly did his bidding. The Governor is expected to sign the bill in the next few days.

There are some tricky elements here, so you'll have to bear with us as we explain them. To start, the legal entity in question is the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), which was created when Disney first moved into Orlando and started buying up land. The state had neither the resources nor the know-how to build the infrastructure needed for a major tourist attraction, so Disney World was granted quasi-governmental status, and allowed to build its own infrastructure (and impose its own taxes). Blurring the lines between "business" and "government" is not a great situation, and someone like David Foster Wallace or Neal Stephenson might have had something to say about it. However, there is general agreement that Disney's RCID has worked out fairly well for all involved.

The reason that Disney is on the hot seat right now is that Florida passed a demagogic law that scapegoats LGBTQ+ people, and Disney's corporate leadership had the temerity to object. Actually, knowing what kind of man DeSantis is, Disney leadership didn't really want to object. However the company's employees were furious, and so a couple of the Disney pooh-bahs, most notably former CEO Bob Iger, offered up mild complaints about the "Don't Say Gay" law. This is their right, consistent with the First Amendment, which protects people's (and corporations') free speech from government encroachment. Perhaps you've heard of it.

Certainly, DeSantis has heard of the First Amendment. After all, he graduated Harvard Law, and it must have come up in class once or twice. He also knows full well that Disney leadership was left with no choice but to say something, and that Iger & Co. kept their remarks about as mild as was possible. However, DeSantis saw yet another opportunity for some performative politics. Not only can he theoretically "own the libs" here, he can do it by striking back at a company that many conservatives really, really hate.

Why? Well, Disney has been somewhat in the vanguard of LGBTQ+ equality, as far as corporations go, becoming among the first businesses to grant health insurance to same-sex couples, and among the first tourist destinations to perform LGBTQ+ weddings. Further, Disney has moved away from the delicate-flower-who-needs-a-man-to-save-her princesses of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, and has embraced a more feminist style of heroine. That's wokeness, as far as many conservatives are concerned. Perhaps worst of all, though, is that Disney is headquartered in California. And the type of folks who vote for a Ron DeSantis tend to loathe California, more than any other state. In case there's any doubt on this matter, DeSantis even explained his interest in smacking Disney by declaring "I will not allow a woke corporation based in California to run our state." Subtlety is not his strong point.

Anyhow, the upshot is that Disney's RCID is potentially on the chopping block. Why "potentially"? Well, that's another important nuance here. The law that the legislature passed, and that DeSantis will soon sign, does not actually strip Disney of its privileges. It says they will be stripped unless the legislature renews the RCID. Conveniently, the deadline for that (June 2023) happens to be after the midterm elections. This sends a crystal clear message to the Disney muckety mucks: "Keep your fu**ing mouse shut, if you know what's good for you, and this can all blow over." It couldn't be plainer.

DeSantis is playing with fire here, however, for a number of reasons. Here are three big ones:

1. Legal exposure: Disney has a number of causes of action, should they decide to take this to court. And as you may know, Disney heads to court at the drop of a hat. If you so much as sneeze in Donald Duck's direction, they're serving you with a subpoena. Most obviously, they are pretty clearly being discriminated against. Further, the procedure by which this bill was passed was highly irregular, without debate or discussion (or the participation of most Democrats in the Florida legislature). Finally, the charter that created the RCID gives sole power to dissolve it to the RCID's landowners (all of them Disney executives, who are "ex officio" owners of big parcels of Orlando land as long as they keep their jobs).
2. Financial exposure: On the other hand, if the RCID is dissolved, then the governmental functions being performed by Disney would have to be assumed by the state and municipal governments. And while DeSantis is kinda fascist, so too is Disney, at least in some ways. In particular, you remember that whole bit about how, under Mussolini, "the trains always ran on time" in Italy? Well, Disney is really, really good at managing employees and infrastructure. They have their portion of Orlando running like a finely-tuned machine, with stellar roads, an almost sickening level of cleanliness, and well-trained and generally satisfied employees. If Florida authorities take over all of that, they wouldn't be able to do it as well, or as cost effectively. So, they'd probably have to raise taxes on Florida citizenry. Oh, and Disney is also servicing $2 billion in public improvement bonds, which Florida would inherit, meaning more taxes. Raising taxes on state residents is a curious way to "own the libs."
3. Angry Disney: Right now, Disney is playing ball and is saying nothing. But Iger & Co. are spitting mad, and are not going to take this lying down. There are the possible lawsuits, of course. Beyond that, the Disney Corporation just announced its intent to move 2,000 jobs to Orlando. Don't bet on that happening now. Disney's cruise line is also based in Florida, but that could change. And even the relocation of Disney World itself could plausibly be on the table. True, it's not easy to pack up Space Mountain and move it elsewhere, but it's not impossible. The theme parks are ultimately a fairly small part of Disney's portfolio these days, and it wouldn't kill the company to shut Disney World down for a year or two while they build a replacement in some other state. Perhaps a state that offers some sweet, sweet subsidies to relocate. Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO), for example, has been making overtures. And as many travelers know, Denver has a massive and fairly new airport, and all kinds of open space.

Now, DeSantis could not care less about things that harm... well, anyone who is not Ron DeSantis. However, there are some risks here to him, and to his personal political aspirations. The first is that people are going to start noticing that he's a dangerous, dangerous man, more than willing to use his position of power to persecute any person or any company that displeases him. And nobody is safe. Last year, the Governor was ramming special protections forDisney through the legislature. Now, he's launching an assault against them, the single-biggest employer in the state.

This behavior is also giving oppo researchers all kinds of material to work with. The Florida gubernatorial election, once the primaries are over, is going to be Ugly with a capital "u." And if and when he runs for president, the Democrats are going to have a field day. They're already working on their messaging, and our guess is they eventually crack the code. For example, the aforementioned Polis is referring to DeSantis as an "authoritarian socialist." Polis can't just use "socialist," because that word has been co-opted by Republicans to mean "crazy, out of control leftist, like 99.8% of the Democratic Party." By adding "authoritarian" in front, Polis is drawing a clear connection between DeSantis and someone like Fidel Castro or Hugo Chávez. Will it work? We'll see, but if not, Polis and other Democrats will try, try again.

Finally, it just might occur to some of the folks who enable DeSantis that he is Trump-like in many ways, and one of those ways is his willingness to throw those who serve him under the bus if that fits his needs. Because the Governor has managed to reach the rank of Field Marshal in the culture wars, he's raking in the donations from across the country, and can tell the corporate types to go pound sand. However, the members of the Florida legislature aren't so lucky. If Disney continues to hold its donations to the sitting legislators (a decision announced last week), and, in particular, if it starts giving that money to their challengers, then a bunch of legislators could find themselves booted out of office.

Of course, none of the Trump sycophants managed to cure themselves of their addiction before it was too late, so maybe DeSantis will have the same good fortune. That said, DeSantis lacks the charisma of Trump, and he hasn't been walking all over his underlings for 40 years the way Trump has. So, maybe not. (Z)

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Analysis indicates that Florida cannot dissolve Reedy Creek.