Until recently, the current showdown between Disney and the state of Florida would have seemed inconceivable. The attacks by Florida Republicans on the entertainment giant will hurt the state’s economy — perhaps badly. They reflect a sudden leap towards intolerance in a country that seemed to be becoming increasingly tolerant; and the allegations against Disney are, in short, insane.
But what’s happening in Florida makes sense when you realize that what Governor Ron DeSantis and his allies want has nothing to do with politics or even politics in the conventional sense. What we’re actually seeing are symptoms of the GOP’s transformation from a normal political party into a radical movement built around conspiracy theories and intimidation.
On the economy: Just a few months ago, the local Tallahassee Democrat ran an article titled “The Mouse That Doesn’t Need to Roar,” claiming that Disney World’s huge role in Florida’s economy gave it almost undeniable political clout.
More directly, Disney World sits in a 10,000-hectare “special district” in which the company provides basic utilities while paying property taxes. Last week, however, DeSantis signed legislation eliminating that district, which will leave local taxpayers in trouble — and also, according to reports, burden them with more than $1 billion in debt.
In addition, the resort employs a large number of people and attracts millions of visitors a year, all of whom spend money that bolsters Florida’s economy in general. And, less tangibly, Disney World has certainly contributed to Florida’s image as a desirable place to visit and live. The state’s leisure and hospitality industry is huge, and Disney World is a major reason for that.
However, all of that was put under threat when Florida passed its “Don’t Say Gay” law, which not only restricted what schools can say about gender, but also severely limited their ability to counsel confused students without parental consent and opened the door to lawsuits from parents alleging violations of vaguely defined rules.
Disney had nothing to say about this legislation as it was being discussed. But an entertainment company whose business depends in part on its public image cannot seem too out of step with prevailing social mores. And American society as a whole has become much more open about LGBTQIA+ issues than it used to be. Approval of same-sex marriage rose from 27% in 1996 to 70% last year. Then, at the end of the story —after the law was passed in the Legislature—, Disney’s CEO finally declared that his company was opposed to it.
The Republican reaction was radical — but today it always is.
Not so long ago, using state power to impose financial penalties on companies for expressing political views you don’t like would have been considered unacceptable. In fact, it may be unconstitutional. But the attack on Disney went far beyond financial reprisals: Mickey Mouse is suddenly part of a vast conspiracy. Florida’s lieutenant governor went to Newsmax to accuse Disney of “indoctrinating” and “sexualizing children” with its “non-secret agenda.”
If that sounds crazy — which it is — it is also increasingly the republican norm. I don’t think political journalism has captured the extent to which the GOP has become QAnonized.
As I mentioned the other day, approximately half of Republicans believe that “high Democrats are involved in elite child trafficking circles.” Here’s an even more impressive number: 66% of Republicans accept the “white replacement theory”, agreeing fully or in part with the statement that “the Democratic Party is trying to replace the current electorate with voters from the world’s poorest countries”. “.
In the face of this mindset, ambitious Republican politicians naturally support policies designed to play on grassroots paranoia and accuse anyone who opposes these policies of being part of a nefarious conspiracy.
And the bizarre nature of the Disney attacks doesn’t just cater to the madness of the Republican base; the very absurdity of these attacks is also a message of intimidation aimed at the business world. It says, in effect, “It doesn’t matter how you run your business, how innocuous your behavior really is. If you criticize our actions, or fail in any way to demonstrate allegiance to our cause, we will find a way to punish you.”
The obvious model here is Viktor Orban’s Hungary, where the Conservative Political Action Conference will be held next month. As a recent Freedom House report put it, in Hungary “entrepreneurs whose activities do not follow the government’s financial or political interest tend to face harassment and intimidation and are subject to increasing administrative pressure for a possible takeover.”
So the fight over Disney is actually a symptom of a much broader and more disturbing event: the QAnonization and organization of one of the biggest political parties in the United States, which is jeopardizing our democracy.
Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves
