CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – What is Florida governor Ron DeSantis best known for?
Ask most people, they’d answer “fighting Disney” or “anti-woke.”
For DeSantis’ political future, both issues need to go his way. Polling suggests he’s correct to push back on the woke agenda in schools. The strong majority of parents don’t want critical race theory taught in schools, nor do they want an LGBTQ agenda presented to grade school students. DeSantis is on solid ground there.
Disney is a trickier issue, and DeSantis needs to improve his messaging on it. I’d try explaining the issue like this: the vacation industry is huge in Florida, and competition for the tourists’ dollars is intense. So one tourist attraction shouldn’t have an unfair advantage against their competitors. Disney, for instance, should not be exempt from local zoning laws. Why should they get to build new attractions while Universal Studios has to go through all the paperwork? Why does Disney not have to worry about fire protection and utility costs. Other tourist attractions pay taxes for those services.
DeSantis might wax poetic on how Disney today looks nothing like the company that Walt Disney founded. Walt Disney was the public face of his studio. He appeared on almost all Disney television broadcasts as the host or narrator of that night’s programming. He knew that it was good business to stay out of politics and religion, which were off-limits in Disney movies and at the theme parks. I assure you that Uncle Walt would not recognize a woke company that’s preparing Pride Days from May 31 through June 4 this year.
Ron DeSantis has the luxury of choosing the issues he wishes to campaign on. He’s been shrewd. He knows that voters expect results, and, so far, he’s in a good position to deliver.
Chris Conley
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