Targeting Disney

There is a long list of reasons why Florida might not want to continue give Disney the treatment it’s received for the past 55 years. DisneyWorld is not just a complex of theme parks, but a municipality unto itself. And Florida was good with this for a long time, both because of the revenue, tax and tourist, Disney brought into the state and the money it spread around to state politicians re-election campaigns, regardless of party affiliation.

It was a very symbiotic relationship until Disney took the side against the governor’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

“If Disney wants to pick a fight, they chose the wrong guy,” Mr. DeSantis, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2024, wrote in a fund-raising email to supporters on Wednesday. “I will not allow a woke corporation based in California to run our state,” he continued. “Disney has gotten away with special deals from the state of Florida for way too long.”

The issue is not whether you agree with what Disney had to say. It’s not whether you think Disney deserves the special treatment it received from the State of Florida. The issue is not whether corporations should keep their nose out of controversial issues and focus instead on doing their business. The issue is whether a state, Florida, can explicitly punish an entity for expressing a view it does not like.

That era ended on Thursday, when the Florida House voted to revoke Disney World’s designation as a special tax district — a privilege that Disney has held for 55 years, effectively allowing the company to self-govern its 25,000-acre theme park complex. The Florida Senate voted on Wednesday to eliminate the special zone, which is called the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Having cleared the way to this outcome with a formal proclamation, Gov. Ron DeSantis will almost certainly make the measure official by adding his signature. It would take effect in June next year.

Did Disney enjoy exceptional status in Florida, status that most other business in the state couldn’t claim? You bet it did, although to be fair, Disney also brought a lot of money to the state, and put Orlando on the map. But that wasn’t enough for DeSantis.

Mr. DeSantis added: “Disney thought they ruled Florida. They even tried to attack me to advance their woke agenda.”

This is hardly the first time government has sought to use its clout to punish either businesses (See Delta in Georgia or Citigroup in Texas, or the NRA in New York) for its policies or views, but to enact a law to revoke Disney’s special status was, perhaps, the most direct, obvious and explicit retaliation imaginable.

Two days later, with pressure building for Disney to condemn the legislation, [Disney CEO Bob] Chapek did so. He also announced that he had called Mr. DeSantis “to express our disappointment and concern that if the legislation becomes law, it could be used to unfairly target gay lesbian, nonbinary and transgender kids and families.”

“The governor heard our concerns and agreed to meet with me and L.G.B.T.Q.+ members of our senior team in Florida to discuss the ways to address them,” Mr. Chapek said.

Disney was hardly the only corporation to take issue with this ridiculously vague and overbroad law, but because of Disney’s extremely high profile and connection to Florida, it’s entry into the mix was significant.

More than 150 companies, including Marriott and American Airlines, had already signed a Human Rights Campaign letter opposing the legislation. Disney, however, had avoided taking a public stand, with its chief executive, Bob Chapek, explaining to employees in an email on March 7 that he did not want the company to become “a political football.”

It wasn’t the Disney didn’t appreciate its position in relation to the Florida government, but that it’s employees pressured the company, no doubt because of its high Florida profile and its importance to the Florida economy, to take a stand against the law. After all, Disney was the 800 lb. gorilla in Florida, and if any entity could put pressure on DeSantis to change his evil ways, it was Disney.

When Disney came out against the law, it was not merely embarrassing for DeSantis and his political aspirations, but a challenge to his power. He was the governor. He wants to be president. He couldn’t appear weak by shrugging off Disney’s position. He had to puff out his chest and show Disney who’s the boss of Florida.

For those who hated Citizens United, holding that corporations enjoyed a First Amendment right to express their views, it’s going to come in handy now should Disney challenge Florida’s retaliation against it for condemning the law. But the politics of the relationship makes this game of chicken complicated. There will be significant costs and revenue losses all over the place, foreseen and unforeseen, as a consequence of this law.

The revocation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District will do some serious damage to Disney. It will do even more serious damage to Orlando and Florida and a lot of people whose fortunes depend on the two of them getting along. Much as some in Floriduh may agree with DeSantis’ law for lack of understanding why it’s a terrible law, will they care enough to watch their income disappear, their revenue drop, their business or job go poof?

As the law doesn’t go into effect until June of next year, there’s still plenty of time for Disney and DeSantis to kiss and make up once the fever has subsided and restore their respective situations to their mutual advantage. Or not. All over a law which stands almost no chance of surviving a constitutional challenge.