MAGA extremists in the House took one look at Ron DeSantis’ losing war on Disney and said: Yum, gimme a piece of that! The Florida governor’s crusade was apparently just extremist enough, just dumb enough, and just unpopular enough to have that ineffable MAGA appeal. So House Republicans got to work on the people's business of figuring out how to wedge their way into DeSantis’ dustup with the most adored company on the planet.
Republican Congressman Troy Nehls of Texas had the perfect vehicle: a bill he introduced last year called the AIR Act (Airlines Independent of Restrictions Act), which would rescind the federal no-fly zones over Disney properties in Florida and California—Disney World and Disneyland, respectively. The no-fly zones were enacted in 2003 following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The bill's seven cosponsors are a cohort of MAGA's finest, including Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.
Nehls' press release reintroducing the legislation said the impetus behind the bill is the fact that Disney is getting special treatment compared to other theme parks.
"Disney is the only theme park in the United States that benefits from the restriction for the commercial gains of eliminating banner ads and disruptive aircraft from their parks," says the press release.
But Boebert's statement reveals the measure's real MAGA appeal.
“Woke corporations shouldn’t get any favors from the government,” Boebert said, employing DeSantis’ rhetoric. "No corporation should get preferential treatment from the government—especially when it is grooming children. Go woke, go broke.”
That’s clarifying. Okay, shhhh ... don't tell the MAGAs, but attacking so-called "woke" corporations isn't exactly winning over any voters outside the MAGA bubble. In March, a USA Today/Ipsos poll found a 56% majority of Americans view the term “woke” in a positive light, while 39% view the term negatively.
DeSantis' declining fortunes are another data point to consider. If his war on "woke" is such a winner, why is he tanking nationally? Certainly, DeSantis' anti-woke crusade isn't the only reason he's losing ground, but it clearly isn't stanching the bleeding, either.
But here's where things get really bad for the MAGA geniuses: Attacking Disney is unpopular. Not only do people around the world love Disney but so do the MAGA faithful, according to focus groups of two-time Trump voters conducted by Sarah Longwell, host of The Focus Group podcast. As Longwell wrote in The Atlantic this week:
Criticism of [DeSantis’] culture-war crusade against Disney has come up as well. “Everything about that is why I’m not necessarily a big fan of him,” said Wesley, a Republican from Maryland. “I get the impression that he very much governs to the people on the internet more so than the people in his state."
Colleen, a Republican from Georgia, called DeSantis’s war with Disney “a little goofy,” saying, “It’s Disney World! Leave it alone.” Informed about DeSantis’s suggestion to build a prison next to the theme park, Ruth—a Michigan Republican—exclaimed, “Why would you do that? That’s terrible.”
It will be interesting to see how many House Republicans sign on to Nehls' bills. But given the way the Disney dispute is playing for DeSantis, Democrats should hope the bill catches fire with House Republicans.
Whether Nehls has a legitimate point is beside the matter: His Disney broadside will be just one more issue where Republicans have gone off the rails.
“It’s Disney World! Leave it alone,” sums it up nicely.
Republished with permission from Daily Kos.
