A.G. Gancarski
Florida’s Senior Senator is wondering if Ron DeSantis is going too far in his fight with The Walt Disney Co.
Marco Rubio is raising concerns about a potentially “problematic” precedent in the ongoing war between the Florida Governor and the entertainment giant.
While the Senator stopped short of opposing the ongoing offensive against the company, he made it clear on “Fox & Friends” the state could be going down a slippery slope.
“I think where it gets problematic in the eyes of some people is when you start creating the idea — and I’m not saying we’re there yet as a state — but the idea that somehow like if you run crossways with us politically, whoever is in charge, then you know, you wind up in the crosshairs of the Legislature for political purposes,” Rubio said.
The Senator suggested this could chill the state’s business environment.
“I do worry that if this happens too many times, businesses that are thinking about coming to Florida are saying, ‘Maybe we don’t want to go there because if we get into a firestorm with them politically, they’re going to come after our business again’,” Rubio added, saying that’s still a “hypothetical issue.”
Rubio initially distanced himself from that “problematic” proposition.
“I don’t have a problem with taking on Disney. I think the fundamental question here is what we’re trying to fix is the fact that Disney had some arrangement that gave them governmental-type powers. I think it’s a perfectly legitimate thing,” Rubio said.
The Governor signed legislation changing Disney’s special district in the wake of the company opposing 2022’s Parental Rights in Education law, leading to Disney filing a federal lawsuit against DeSantis and other state parties for a “targeted campaign of government retaliation.”
DeSantis is leaning into the fight, saying the former Reedy Creek Improvement District was “not good for Florida” during his current overseas trade mission, his first remarks since the suit.
However, he has threatened to take more liberties with the company.
When discussing new legislation to wrestle control back from Disney, the Florida Governor suggested the state had every right to do what it wanted on land in the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.
“People are like, well, ‘What should we do with this land? Maybe create a state park? Maybe try to do more amusement parks,’” DeSantis said, before adding a quip about building a prison. … I just think that the possibilities are endless, and so that is now going to be analyzed to see what would make the most sense.”
While the Tomorrowland Gulag is not currently in the works, other moves to lock the company down are in play in Tallahassee. Legislation that would allow state officials to perform safety checks on Disney World’s monorail is live in the waning days of Session, after DeSantis warned that could be on the rails before Sine Die.
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Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics contributed to this report.
5 comments
Ron DeSantis wears High Heels
April 27, 2023 at 10:21 am
Finally, somebody is starting to get it.
Ron is also ruining our states education system, which will also make companies question moving here because they might not be able to find qualified candidates or a well educated workforce.
Dont Say FLA
April 27, 2023 at 10:51 am
What does Florida look like if Ron Duh Santies wins the culture wars he’s picked and will keep picking if he finds success with the current ones? At some point after the outliers have all been exterminated, he’ll start up a culture war that will include something about your culture. At that point will you finally realize politicians should stay out of the culture business? Government representatives are elected to govern. Reps are not elected to whine “the others” or attack “the others.” Reps are supposed to represent both you and “the others.” Any rep that attacks “the others” is a colossally un-American failure. Looking at you, Ron Duh Santies.
Billy the Bamboozler
April 27, 2023 at 11:02 am
Republicans patting themselves on the backs and claiming that people moving to Florida is an accomplishment. Meanwhile, it’s people like Trump moving to Florida, driving up prices, and I’m sure we now have just as many people thinking about getting out of here one day because of all the terrible laws and politics. Many people really trapped here because of low wages and other reasons. Republicans cause human flight.
Dont Say FLA
April 27, 2023 at 11:52 am
People be moving to the Southeast because GOP leadership over the last 40 years has kept demand for real estate reduced and prices are cheap compared to up North. COVID and the GOP President’s failure to do anything but stick his head in the sand, that made some folks want to move from high density to low density. Who did that move? People with health problems, that’s who. So congrats to Florida and Georgia and South Carolina and Tennessee on the influx of the elderly and the infirm, brought here by COVID and comparatively worthless real estate.
Jim
April 28, 2023 at 5:20 pm
Sen Rubio offering his tepid cautions would have been more courageous if he had done it at the outset, before any sign that Mickey would pwn DeSantis. It was clear, even then, that it was political retribution. And now, when it’s obviously become a cluster, he doesn’t have the guts to speak against it. Rather, he says they shouldn’t do it to too many other companies. He also refers to the Reedy Creek district as if it’s the only one in the state, and that they are merely addressing that. Pretty disingenuous and spineless.
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