DeSantis’s decision to sue Walt Disney Co. Opposition to a bill banning the teaching of gender-related issues to children younger than third-graders – called a “do not say gay” bill by its enemies – opens a new front in the growing cultural wars that conducted by top Republican officials across the country in an intermediate election year. In states from Texas to California, Republicans are increasingly focusing on issues that are important to them, from abortion rights, health care for trans young people, and teaching the impact of race to U.S. law. In some cases, they greatly restrict or prohibit these things. This particular conflict involves a pair of Florida’s most powerful giants: the governor, who has made a name for himself with Trump-type politics. and Disney, the entertainment giant that is one of the state’s largest and most important employers. Under pressure from its employees, Disney denounced the bill – but disappointed some by not pushing further and sooner. DeSantis’s crusade against Disney could earn him National Conservative points as he contemplates a presidential bid in 2024. His press secretary and National Conservatives are attacking the bill’s enemies, officially known as “C” in education “, as children” exposed “to the teaching of sexual identity are” treated “to” separate “them from” a normative sexual identity and gender identity. According to Ron Dreher of the US Conservative Party, who called the Democrats a “beautician party.” Fox’s Laura Ingraham, meanwhile, says Disney is better prepared to challenge its trademarks and copyright when Republicans return to power. Opinion: MICKEY: She is also a hairdresser! Nevertheless, Florida observers – some of them Republicans – say DeSantis is in danger of facing Disney at its stadium. “It’s a politically silly move, but I’re going to use it as a currency in Republican politics today to say it’s a wake-up call,” said David Jolly, a former Florida lawmaker who served in Washington with DeSantis. . “Disney will be fine. But what he is doing is showing Americans that Ron DeSantis is a glass-jawed ruler who can not tolerate criticism. That’s the point, nothing more than that. “ Florida Democrats, who have long criticized the comfortable relationship between Disney lobbyists and GOP lawmakers in Tallahassee, say DeSantis may have taken his culture war a step too far. “It’s inexplicable that the governor is chasing the largest employer in the state, an employer that attracts millions of visitors from all over the world and is a huge part of our tourism industry,” said Joseph Geller, a state spokesman from Miami. “They call Disney the third railroad of politics in Florida for a reason.” Geller, a Democrat, said the more enigmatic the way Desis and his supporters attack Disney, by tacitly associating the company with “cultivators” who endanger children. “Even more shocking is that these old canards have been revived,” Geller said. “It plays at its base, but I think it’s a narrow base. Disney is a huge force for good in this situation and it is one of the most popular names in the world. Attacking them like that is really hard to understand. “ The opposite also strikes a chord with the Disney family. Abigail Disney, whose grandfather Roy O. Disney co-founded the company with Walt’s brother, says the company’s special treatment by the state should be considered, but not because of a Republican-backed law. “This time, the far-right political machine seems to have outgrown its skis. “Politicians should be wondering if, in the next election cycle, Disney or any other company will support them in light of these threats of arbitrary punishment under a possible Republican government,” the Washington Post wrote this week. Charlee Disney, the child of Abigail Disney’s brother Roy, appeared in public this week as a trans and also condemned Florida law. The controversy revolves around legislation that prohibits teaching or discussion in the classroom. “Sexual orientation or gender identity” for kindergartens through third graders in public schools. It also enables parents to sue school districts for teaching they do not like and requires schools to inform parents when their child is receiving mental health services. Critics say the law is vague and will have a creepy effect on the way teachers in any classroom can answer students’ questions about issues such as same-sex marriage. They are also concerned that it could prevent schools from being a safe place for students who may not feel comfortable talking about gender orientation at home or who are bullied at school. Democrats called it a “do not say gay” bill, and the phrase became a rallying cry for protesters and opponents across the nation, ostensibly to anger the governor. DeSantis angrily rebuked a journalist who used the term in a press conference, accusing him of “spreading false narratives”. “Does that say in the bill? Does it say that in the bill? ” asked DeSantis at the heated exchange. DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw made her own name for the bill, calling it the “Anti-Grooming Bill.” “If you are against the anti-grooming bill, you are probably a groomer or at least you are not complaining about grooming 4-8 year olds,” Pushaw wrote on Twitter. Ministry of Justice information on child exploitation describes care as a process that “encourages a false sense of trust and power over a child in order to desensitize or break down a child’s resistance to sexual abuse.” President Joe Biden also stood by it, calling it a “hateful bill” as it was debated and saying after its vote that “my government will continue to fight for dignity and opportunity for every student and family – in Florida and across the country.” DeSantis signed the bill into law on March 28. That day, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek issued a statement saying the bill “… should never have been passed and should never have been signed into law. “Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislator or to be repealed in the courts.” Many Disney employees criticized Chapek for not doing enough and for waiting too long to publicly oppose the bill. But DeSantis was outraged, saying Disney had “crossed the line”. The governor then attacked Disney over issues ranging from its dealings with China to the content of its entertainment offerings, targeting what it called “a bunch of things.” “It shocked the people in California who work very high in this company.” “These things that come out of their mouths are incredible, that they see their programming as a way to introduce a lot of these issues into programming for very young children,” DeSantis said in March. He said the legislature is reviewing Disney’s special tax regime in Florida, looking at “some of the things that are really unique to Disney for many, many decades, where this one company has been put on a pedestal and treated differently.” “We must not let a company have its own rules compared to all the others.” Disney is part of a tourist Mecca that has an estimated economic impact of $ 75.2 billion in Central Florida. The company has donated millions to state politicians, mostly Republicans. Both Republicans and Democratic lawmakers say the GOP-led Florida legislature will not repeal the new law and that it is equally unlikely that Disney’s special tax regime will be lifted. But the controversy shows no signs of stopping. “It’s like your mom and dad fighting at the table” said State Sen. Jeff Brandes. “Both play a central role within the state. Florida without Disney is ruined. And Florida without a strong ruler is weak. The key is to understand how to go beyond that and work together. “ Brandes, one of two Republicans who opposed the controversial bill, said it would be a “foolish mistake” for the state to try to intervene in Disney operations. But other lawmakers agree with DeSantis. State spokesman Spencer Roach (R) said it’s time for Florida to treat Disney like any other business. Legislation signed in 1967 at the instigation of Disney lobbyists created the 25,000-acre Reedy Creek Improvement District in two Florida counties, allowing the company to formulate its own rules for development and other issues. Roach wants to repeal the law created by Reedy Creek. He said he had met with other GOP lawmakers who agreed. Some of them have returned donations made by Disney to their campaigns since the company criticized the new law. “Disney was really politically untouchable in the state of Florida. “There have been so many political assassins that the abolition of Reedy Creek has never seemed so remote,” Roach said. “There is an opportunity now where Disney is politically weakened and there is an opportunity to rectify what I would call a historic free market deviation.” DeSantis, Roach said, is the only politician who could do it. “DeSantis is a very popular governor in the state of Florida,” Roach said. “He’s definitely not a ruler you want to deal with.” So far, DeSantis has not announced any official proposals for Disney. He mocked the efforts of New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) to lure Florida residents to New York. Adams said the city was buying space on five digital billboards in major Florida cities “denouncing the hate law.” The city of Chicago buys advertisements in Florida newspapers, inviting companies to relocate to a …
