Scott Powers
Indications of whether Florida Republicans’ snout smack of the Walt Disney Co. will make any immediate difference in their long-running symbiotic relationship should start showing up this month.
Or not showing up.
If Disney is mad at Florida Republicans, it could cost the GOP, its candidates, and its allied political committees more than $1 million in campaign donations that the entertainment company has typically donated to Florida Republicans in the closing months of election cycles.
For decades, Disney and its various subsidiaries and political committees have given millions of dollars in every election cycle to state Republicans and their allied political committees, while also giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to their Democratic counterparts.
Historically, Disney has done so in waves: during winter months, and then again during late summer and the autumn. The company usually takes the spring and early summer off from donating money to campaigns and committees.
It was in the spring, during the annual Disney donations lull, that Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers slapped Disney’s snout after the corporation expressed opposition to Republicans’ priority culture war legislation, the controversial “Parental Rights in Education” bill (HB 1557). DeSantis had signed that bill as Democrats and other opponents labeled it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
California-based Walt Disney Co., which operates Florida’s largest single-site employer, Walt Disney World, concurred with Democrats. And after courting anger from both sides of the aisle, Disney announced a decision to pause political donations indefinitely.
In a move even some of his allies labeled as retribution, DeSantis called a Special Session in April and got the Legislature to approve SB 4C, dissolving Walt Disney World’s special government, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a move that would eliminate many government advantages for the company. The sanction would go into effect next June, if Disney and Florida’s government don’t make nice by then.
The refrain from many Republicans critical of Disney’s rhetoric is that the company should stay out of politics. Yet Disney’s politics have almost always benefited Republicans, to the tune of millions of dollars in campaign money.
In the 2016 election cycle, Disney and its subsidiaries and political committees wrote 958 checks totaling $4.6 million in donations to candidates’ campaigns, parties and various political committees. That doesn’t include hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of freebie theme park tickets and other goods and services provided as in-kind donations to candidates, parties and committees.
For the 2018 cycle, Disney wrote 845 checks totaling $6.8 million, not including another $20 million Disney put up to oppose a constitutional amendment that year.
In 2020, Disney wrote 553 checks for $4.3 million.
Through March of this year, Disney had written 310 checks, worth $1.9 million in contributions. About $1.3 million of that went to Republicans and their allied committees. About $200,000 went to Democrats. The rest went to political committees with no clear partisan commitments. The spread is typical of other recent cycles.
Now it’s August, the time when Disney has biennially begun ushering its final round of cash contributions to campaigns and committees during previous election cycles. But it’s unclear if the company is ready to reverse its decision to suspend donations, or who will benefit once Disney does pony up once again.
The coming months will show whether Disney will counterpunch, or if its longer-term political needs are seen as best met by continuing to support Florida Republicans.
In the 2020 election cycle, Disney cut about $2 million in checks after Aug. 1, a little less than half of the total it contributed during the entire two-year cycle.
So far for the 2022 election cycle, Disney’s biggest single beneficiary has been the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, which collected $400,000. The Republican Party of Florida got $255,000.
Disney has given the Florida Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee $85,000 this cycle, and the Florida Democratic Party, $25,000.
Before the battles with HB 1557 and SB 4C this election cycle, Disney had given $50,000 to Friends of Ron DeSantis, and $3,000 to the now-aborted gubernatorial campaign of Democratic Sen. Annette Taddeo, but no money to the gubernatorial campaigns of Democratic U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist or Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.
19 comments
Impeach Biden
August 2, 2022 at 7:28 am
The mouse had better learn to get along with Florida Republicans as we are going nowhere and the mouse has nowhere to go.
Joe Corsin
August 2, 2022 at 7:33 am
Oh you going somewhere… you people are dying like flies. “YOU GONNA BURN IN HELL!!!!!” – Dee Snyder
Elliott Offen
August 2, 2022 at 9:55 am
Ye dying like flies!!!!
Impeach Biden
August 2, 2022 at 2:01 pm
Hello Elliott / Joe. I guess you Democrats are going to hang your hat on record high fuel prices, 40 year inflation, Southern Border chaos, violent city crime due to the defund movement and on and on. People are fleeing BLUE states as they have had enough of high taxes, and lockdowns. Florida will remain Red and Disney needs to accept that fact. They have nowhere else to go.
Trailer
August 2, 2022 at 10:17 pm
“Southern border chaos”
Excuses excuses.
Sube we should hire those immigrants to watch the border since you republicans can’t even stop a few of them lol
Impeach Biden
August 2, 2022 at 10:36 pm
Mind if we drop off several dozen at your house? I’m guessing you are one of those with the sign in the yard that says, “no one is illegal”. So? Or will you sound like Bowser and Adam’s?
Trailer
August 2, 2022 at 10:50 pm
“Mind if drop off several dozen at your house”
Sure you can. We can even have a party with the new arrivals.
Then we drop off several republicans in Mexico to make it even.
marylou
August 2, 2022 at 11:37 am
Speaking of Disney, what else will MAGAts make their own children give up to get freedumb ron re-elected?
When there’s a classroom party, your child can’t even have any of little Kayleigh’s mickey&minnie Birthday Cake. Your child gets to sit alone in the corner crying over a stale Little Debbie, because ron is protecting your “Parents’ Rights”.
Impeach Biden
August 2, 2022 at 2:05 pm
Mary Lou your rant is mostly incoherent. I’m trying to figure out what you are saying / advocating. So you want the schools to teach gender identity to our kindergartners through third grade? Can’t we wait until at least fourth grade before you and the Democrats start with their indoctrination of the kids?
nail
August 2, 2022 at 2:38 pm
You are the typical elderly Floridian “dumbed down” by the Republican politics.
Good luck with all those dumbed down grandchildren. We know those poor kids will have no future….
Impeach Biden
August 2, 2022 at 9:54 pm
Dumbed down eh? Shall we go over the chaos that has gone on in this country since Jimmy Carter2 got into office? How about his VP choice? Was she qualified or did she fill “that square”? How about his energy Secretary or Transportation Secretary? Is this the best and the brightest of the Democratic Party? Give me DeSantis any day. You people wouldn’t know leadership if it hit you in the head.
marylou
August 2, 2022 at 4:26 pm
Indoctrinating what? That kids are okay no matter who they live with? Do you even know what it is that teachers are supposedly saying in their classrooms, or are you just parroting ron?
And, think about it, Republicans believe 4th graders are ready to be moms, but, somehow, 3rd graders aren’t ready to talk about how having only one dad is just as good as having two dads, or a grandma.
joey
August 4, 2022 at 12:32 pm
All Disney have to do is close for 1 month. You see how Florida economy sink. LOL
Miles Perklins
August 2, 2022 at 11:10 am
Call Dan Newman and send it all through Grow United then open a lounge in Tallahassee.
Just a comment
August 2, 2022 at 11:44 am
The mouse was the big spender in those days not so much nowadays
Impeach Biden
August 2, 2022 at 2:41 pm
So you are good with the Jimmy Carter2 administration. Is that safe to say? Look at how BLUE has screwed up their cities, states, and now in the Federal level.
Jack
August 3, 2022 at 7:53 am
I see that you’re desperate to make this jimmy carter2 thing a meme. It’s about as stupid as the other wanker with the manchurian thing. You guys could actually be funny if you tried harder – c’mon … work at it.
It's Complicated
August 2, 2022 at 3:51 pm
I predict Disney interests will give $ to the Republicans this cycle, AND will privately engage in the ceremonial ring kissing required to be in the same room with GOP leadership going forward. What other options do they have?
Ocean Joe
August 3, 2022 at 10:17 am
Here’s an option.
Donate nothing.
Keep your lobbyists, convince Florida leaders that what’s good for Disney is good for Florida: tourists, jobs, taxes, and fun for children, without bribing them.
Buying lunch with Desantis (or anyone else) for $50,000 is an obscenity.
Comments are closed.