(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



'Anti-business' and 'anti-Florida': Disney CEO calls out DeSantis as theme park feud rages on [1]

['Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags', 'Showtags Popular_Tags']

Date: 2023-04-04  

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:

x Civiqs Results

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.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/4/2162014/--Anti-business-and-anti-Florida-Disney-CEO-calls-out-DeSantis-as-theme-park-feud-rages-on

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/