Politico ran a story yesterday under the goofy headline, “
The Disney-DeSantis détente is here.” Haha! By “détante,” Politico meant “DeSantis beat Disney like a drum.” And by “is here,” Politico mean it is a fait accomplí.
As a reminder, the trouble began in 2021, when Disney officially supported pushing pornography in Florida’s classrooms. The entertainment giant also insisted that elementary-school kids should be taught about alternative sexual lifestyles. Florida’s legislature disagreed with all the mega-corporate activism, and responded censoriously by stripping Disney’s special tax status, taking away its own home-ruled company county, and setting up a Governor-appointed board to supervise the whole mess.
But Disney’s super-sneaky lawyers executed a bunch of property transfers, and signed several binding contracts right before the new law took effect, trying to tie everything up in legal red tape and make the Governor’s newly-appointed board an instant nullity having nothing to supervise.
The legislature responded by voiding everything Disney’s ethically-questionable lawyers did. Touché, mon ami.
So last year, Disney sued the Governor, the legislature, and every other Florida official the Mouse thought might somehow be involved. This week the parties settled that lawsuit. Here’s how Politico actually described the settlement that its headline called a ‘détente’:
Disney on Wednesday reached a settlement in Florida and will no longer seek to retain its self-governance of Walt Disney World, a stunning turn in a battle with DeSantis that stretched more than two years.
“This is moving forward,” DeSantis said. “I think that’s what the company wants to do.” Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World Resort, said in a statement that the company was “pleased” to end the state court lawsuit.
To the extent it happened at all, any “détente” must have occurred
outside the settlement agreement. Politico suggested that Disney got a win out of the deal because right before the settlement, DeSantis appointed a new board chairman that Disney probably likes better, because “she is seen as qualified for the job.”
Uh huh. Have some freedom fries.
Most corporate media described Disney’s spanking as a tie. But for a change, the Wall Street Journal played the story straight:
That’s better. DeSantis—100; Disney—0.
Good Friday thoughts; Kennedy VP pick rocks race; Trump 1st Amendment motion; DeSantis finally defeats Disney for good; Moderna combo jabs; SBF gets 25 years; conservative advice; Brand revival; more.
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