At a news conference Monday, Republicans decried an “egregious form of corporate welfare,” vowed to uphold “governance in a republic” and stop “special deals” for corporations like Disney.
Please.
Before Gov. Ron DeSantis anointed himself guardian of good morals against Mickey Mouse, lawmakers were happy to take Disney’s cash and draft legislation two years ago that allowed the corporation to evade Florida’s social-media crackdown.
So blatant is the hypocrisy of Republicans who profess to fight corporate power that, on the same day they announced a new round of actions against Disney, a Florida House committee was busy helping another kind of big corporation: utilities. A provision slipped into a hurricane-recovery bill shields companies such as Florida Power & Light from lawsuits related to damages caused by extensive power outages during a storm.
There are plenty of reasons to go after Disney and its outsized power to self-govern in Central Florida. To use DeSantis’ own words, “We are a government of laws, not of individual men.” Or corporations.
Higher office
If DeSantis were to follow his own words, however, there would be no fight with Disney to begin with. This is revenge against the company’s opposition to a parental-rights law critics call “Don’t say gay.” It should serve as a prelude to what a potential DeSantis administration would do if he ascends to the White House. He is expected to announce he’s running for president after the legislative session ends next month.
Consider what DeSantis would do if given a bigger bully pulpit, more authority and more bravado. It’s not unreasonable to assume that the so-called leader of the free world could use the weight of his office to go after any corporation, government agency or adversary. Today, DeSantis’ enemy might be your enemy, too. Tomorrow, it might be a different story.
Of course, new challenges would arise for DeSantis, mainly the potential of a gridlocked Congress that doesn’t sit, roll and bark at his command as the Florida Legislature does. But DeSantis has proven his willingness and aptitude to find ways to punish those who cross him.
DeSantis has shown nothing is too petty, too extreme for him. He’s egged on by an entourage of sycophantic lawmakers, such as state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, who warned Disney during the Monday news conference: “You are not going to win this fight. This governor will.”
Until Disney opposed “Don’t say gay,” there was virtually no talk in Tallahassee about the company essentially running a local government for its theme parks and resorts. Then, Disney opened its mouth, and the company-controlled Reedy Creek Improvement District near Orlando became a target. Lawmakers last year rushed a bill to dissolve the district, but didn’t address the fact that would stick taxpayers with near $1 billion in Disney debt. This year, they reworked the legislation to rename the district and give the governor authority to appoint the people running it.
Disney’s scheme
Days before the Legislature voted on that last bill in February, Disney outmaneuvered the governor. The district board, still under Disney control, quietly approved a deal that limits the power of what the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board can do with its property. The deal also prohibits the new board from using the Disney name without approval.
Disney said everything was done above board and in the open. DeSantis swore investigations and payback, bringing us to his announcement Monday.
Now the party of few business regulations is vowing to use the government’s machinery to inflict pain. DeSantis wants Disney’s maneuver dissolved and state oversight over the company’s monorail and amusement rides. We would normally applaud more safety regulations, but, on Monday, DeSantis hinted only Disney would be affected and not all of Florida’s major theme parks, such as Universal Orlando or Busch Gardens, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Lawmakers are expected to file legislation next week.
So much is the governor’s thirst for payback, he floated the idea of selling off utilities and going after land within the district that Disney doesn’t own, developing it as the state sees fit.
“Maybe create a state park, maybe try to do more amusement parks,’’ he said. “Someone even said like, maybe you need another state prison. Who knows? I mean, I just think that the possibilities are endless.”
The possibilities indeed are endless for Florida’s supreme governor, who will abuse the power of his office to practice the petty politics of revenge.
[ad_2]
Source link