GOP lawmakers are now attacking Disney at the federal level

[LetMyPeopleVote]

DeathSantis is having his allies in Congress attack Disney

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/disney-desantis-boebert-no-fly-zone-rcna84030?cid=sm_npd_ms_tw_ma&taid=645e0e41903867000155c8de&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Republicans aren’t done targeting Disney in their political, disinformation-riddled war on free enterprise.

Late last week, several House Republicans introduced a bill that would rescind special no-fly zones federally authorized above two Disney properties: Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

It’s the latest example of the GOP, which is known for favoring corporate interests, seemingly targeting a corporation because of its political independence. Disney, of course, has been under attack by conservatives — especially Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — ever since company leadership spoke out against bigoted legislation, signed by DeSantis, that restricts in-school discussions about LGBTQ people.

I am pissed that it is my congresscritter who filed this bill

Rep. Troy Nehls, a Texas Republican, first introduced the Airlines Independent of Restrictions Act targeting Disney’s “no-fly zones” last June. He reintroduced it Friday, with co-sponsors including right-wing extremists Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado.

“Theme parks like Disney should not receive special treatment just because they are well-connected,” Nehls said in a news release upon the bill’s reintroduction. “Our national security should not be compromised to fit the needs of one corporation.”

Nehls is a low life scum bucket

[Lovie777]

1. Majority of Americans are getting extremely disenchanted........................

with the GQPs.

[tanyev]

2. Average annual attendance at Disney World: 58 million.

Good chance about 50% of that number generally vote Republican. Even filtering out for U.S. citizens, people old enough to vote, and people who bother to vote, that’s still a lot of potential Republican votes lost. Please proceed, GOP.

[Johonny]

3. Disney has special treatment the same way other mass gatherings have special treatment

because no one wants a mass disaster . . . until moron took over the GOP.

Republicans seem to have no idea why laws or rules exist.

[Zeitghost]

8. I've seen hundreds of aircraft

Doing flyovers at sporting events. And they fly over crowded cities all the time. I don't see the increased safety risk at an amusement park that are no more densely populated than any urban area.

These laws and policies were written because Disney wanted to control the environment around its parks and keep media, sightseers and others who might disrupt the theme park experience. They used their power and donations to shape government policy in their favor.



I understand the reasons they are being attacked and do not support them. But it's so odd to see progressives jump at any chance to defend one of the largest media corporations in the world writing government policy and literally assuming government regulating power. That kind of corporate/government melding is literally fascism.

[Obvious85]

9. Wrong

wrong

[Zeitghost]

12. Trump debate tactics on DU

We are in strange days indeed.

[maxrandb]

13. Well, we are anti-fascist, so I guess that is why we don't support fascism

But, you do you.

In a fight berween Retrumplicans and the corporations that have funded them for decades, I only root for injuries to both sides.

That being said, it is important that Disney win this particular fight.

If you think Retrumplican control is dependent on corporations funding them now, just wait until they break a corporation like Disney. Think any business or corporation won't fall in line after that?

[Zeitghost]

15. These pro Disney posts

Cheering for them to keep their power to control taxes, code, zoning and building permits is direct support for fascist policies.


If Disney was trying to get the State of California to carve out their own local government power in order to not fall under the control of Orange County and the City of Anaheim (with whom Disney has feuded for decades) we would be in an uproar.

[maxrandb]

17. No, Disney negotiated a contract with the state of Florida

It appears that up until they spoke out against draconian, fascist legislation, that agreement benefited both Disney and Florida.

The problem with this is that the only sin Disney committed was NOT following the Retrumplican line.

If you want to say that Disney is being targeted for their record of how they have met the conditions of their contract with the state, that is an argument worth having, but that's NOT what this is.

BTW - The Villages in Florida also is a special district with the power to control taxes, code, zoning and building permits.

They are not being subject to those attacks, because they toe the party line.

THAT is the very definition of fascism.

[Zeitghost]

30. Disney made a deal with the devil

Had they not received the power of government that should never be given to corporations, they would not be susceptible to these attacks from the State of Florida.

No corporation, be it ABC/Disney or a retirement community, should be given the power to tax, regulate, zone and permit. Ever. So while I can't stand Desantis, I don't get too worked up when one of the largest media conglomerates in the world has their special little governmental kingdom challenged.

[RobinA]

33. I'm On The Flip Side

I'm not a huge Disney fan, although I will say they do some things very well, but I find it very unnerving to see the government go after a company solely because of ideology. Is Disney too big for its britches in Florida? Probably. Should the government be going after them as a vendetta? No. An amusement park's social policies in this case hurt no one. There just isn't a compelling state interest here.

[Zeitghost]

34. I don't disagree

Just remember, the State of Florida and Desantis can not "go after" Disney, they can only go after the former Reedy Creek Improvement District (I forget the new name) which is a local government created by and subservient to the State of Florida.

Had Disney played by the same set of rules just about every other corporation does and as they do in every other one of their parks, there is little to nothing Desantis could do as any regulation passed to harm Disney would have to apply to other similar businesses.


As I have pointed out before, nobody here on DU would support exempting Disney from local control in So-Cal where they have battled local government over taxes, zoning and permitting for decades. And yet almost everyone here strongly supports it in Florida for the sole reason of "Desantis sucks". What other mega corps are we willing to exempt from state government regulation for blatantly political reasons?

[Scalded Nun]

22. I am in no way a Disney supporter or fan. Have never been to a Disney property...never plan to.

They signed contracts that provided the best outcomes for their business. That is what any one or any business would do. Florida (via Desantis) is now abusing its power in order to bend a business (Disney) to its will. That is wrong on all counts. I hope Disney wins this battle, and that does mean that I have any good will in any shape, form or fashion for Disney. I cannot not care about this outcome as the ramifications across the board should Florida win this are too dangerous and frightening.

I am not, nor have I seen anyone cheering for Disney.

[Zeitghost]

31. This is not a business contract they entered into

Last edited Sun May 14, 2023, 04:40 PM - Edit history (1)

They literally had the power of a city government. No corporation should ever be given those powers. They belong to local governments elected by local citizens, not a corporate board of billionaires .

[EndlessWire]

24. Wut?? You just called the Mouse a fascist?

There will be no facet of American life that will not be attacked under the GOP fascist party policies. I get it. We all get it. But, Disney, no matter what the circumstance behind the scenes, is a piece of our lives that most of us want to keep. DeSantis has gone nuts in Florida, but why do they have to eff with California's piece of the Magic Kingdom?

The fireworks alone should be reason enough to have a no fly zone over the campus. Drat, now I have to find my mouse ears hat. GRRRR...I wonder if Congress can keep Mouse Ears out of their meetings? Cause, if I were attending, I'd definitely be wearing my Mickey ears.

[zipplewrath]

25. No, you haven't.

It varies by location, but if you look at any Superbowl, you won't even see the Goodyear blimp flying OVER. Yes, you may see banner planes at your local college football games, but they will be flying AROUND the stadium. (For one thing, they want you to be able to read their banner.) But there are alot of gatherings where air traffic is otherwise restricted

Yes, Disney took advantage after 9/11 and got their airspace special restrictions. It's roughly the same as the capitol and the White House. And as much as the excuse was because of the daily population, there is no doubt that Disney took advantage to prevent commercial business activity over their property (tour flights, banner planes, etc.). For one thing, Disney's airspace is particularly tall (high). But what the GQP is doing is reckless. These restrictions should be left to the security specialists in the FAA, DHS, the executive branch itself.

The GQP should think twice because when a plane dives into Cinderella's castle, there'll be hell to pay.

[NullTuples]

18. No, Disney is unique; a corporation that acted as its own gov't agency

Here's a map of no-fly zones for the USA: https://www.dji.com/flysafe/geo-map

I spent 20 minutes scanning various states: ALL restricted areas that I found were either prisons (or similar), airports (restricted, not "no-fly&quot and military installations, with the exception of Washington, DC...and a single corporation in the middle of Florida.

This came about during an era of US history when corporations were still figuring out the best way to gain power in the Cold War, Nixon, Vietnam war era. It's also the same era that bore megachurches, televangelicals and it was arguably the origin period of most of the older Republican leadership of today. Things that corporations and government did together during that era are not always things to be proud of now.

[demigoddess]

23. I agree with what you say. they wouldn't mind a mass disaster if it made Disney look bad.

[Quakerfriend]

4. And, several days ago DeSantis announced increased

inspections on Disney’s monorails, under the guise of enhancing safety.

I guess he got the idea from the Texas governor who has intentionally sought to disrupt supply chain by creating backlogs and delays with unnecessary truck inspections.

[Eugene]

11. The legislature failed to *FUND* the proposed state inspections as the session expired.

They gave the state the authority, but didn't appropriate funds for the agriculture department to actually actually do it.

Now, DeSadist's next bright idea is to become the HOA from helll with aggressive fines for "code violations" and forclosure for any outstanding lein.

[NullTuples]

19. The GOP party is willing to burn the economy* to the ground w/ the debt ceiling.

*United States, World...whatever

[Cha]

5. Hey Fuckhead, Nehls.. trump

stole Classified Docs.. Where's your big concern for "National Security" with his treasonous ass?

[MagickMuffin]

6. So, if a plane crashes into a Disney property No Big Deal

Burn it down is the GOP = Guns Over People’s agenda.


I’d be concerned if I lived close by.

[forgotmylogin]

20. I can understand that part of the 'no-fly' is to support aesthetic skylines within the park...

But isn't it also smart to limit who can fly directly over a location that will contain 100k+ densely-packed civilians and employees every day? If ever there was a potential terrorist target - or just an area you'd want to prevent planes needing to do emergency landings inside of - that should have restricted air-space, I'd think Disney World would qualify. Plus there are fireworks in the vicinity almost every evening.

A little harder for Disney in CA which is in the middle of a metropolitan area, but the Florida park was intentionally built away from everything else and they bought vast amounts of land around it to set it apart from the "real" world.

[Joinfortmill]

7. GOP is insane

[rubbersole]

10. And it never goes well when they try to 'punch up'.

This batch of repubs only goal is getting on faux news. Disney will embarrass them all. They aren't paying attention to the desantis death spiral.

[Otterdaemmerung]

14. Why do they hate capitalism?

They love the corporations as long as the "corporations are people" and, like people, do what they're told and don't ask questions.

[Hekate]

16. That pious line about "national security" was really persuasive, wasn't it?

[multigraincracker]

21. It is now official, rePubs are

Fucking Goofy.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

26. Disney War Continues As CEO Punches Back At Florida Gov. DeSantis

The development agreement and property restrictions being attacked by DeathSantis and his board members contemplate Disney opening one major park and two minor parks. Disney was planning to sink $17 billion into WDW and those plans may be on hold

Link to tweet

https://kotaku.com/disney-ceo-bob-iger-florida-ron-desantis-lawsuit-feud-1850429462?utm_campaign=Kotaku&utm_content=1683834476&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_source=twitter

Disney CEO Bob Iger verbally pushed back against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his ongoing war against Disney World and the company, pointing out all the taxes his corporation pays the state and rhetorically asking if Florida still wants its business and all the money that entails.

On May 10, as reported by Deadline, Iger spoke out against DeSantis and the state’s recent legal moves against Disney, claiming that the company was the “largest taxpayer in Central Florida” after paying over $1.1 billion dollars in state and local taxes in 2022. “There’s…a false narrative that we’ve been fighting to protect tax breaks as part of this,” Iger claimed.

“This is about one thing and one thing only, and that’s retaliating against us for taking a position about pending legislation,” Iger said, and then commented on his company’s (tepid) disapproval of Florida’s horrible “Don’t Say Gay Bill.” “We believe that in us taking that position, we’re merely exercising our right to free speech.” He then asked rhetorically, “Does [Florida and DeSantis] want us to invest more, employ more, and pay more taxes or not?”

[DENVERPOPS]

27. If they want to talk about no fly zones

Talk to any Air Traffic Controller on the entire East Coast of what they were required to do whenever Trump decided to take AirForce One to any of his golf retreats, or fly down to Florida weekly to visit Mar a whatever. There were wide areas shut down at both airports, and the same with the flight path all the way down and back......Can you just imagine the gyrations the ATC had to go to, to restrict commercial airliners, and air freight carriers in those areas????????? Let alone private aircraft. Any day he traveled, I can imagine that there were at least 500-1500 commercial aircraft affected by his constant flights.

The ABSOLUTE epitome of a political party weaponizing politics, and doing it to exact damage on one of their specific perceived enemies.

[Takket]

28. "Our national security should not be compromised to fit the needs of one corporation"

UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM the no fly zone was put there BECAUSE OF NATIONAL SECURITY, not in deference to it.

https://simpleflying.com/flying-banned-over-disney/

"These theme parks, beloved by the young and the young at heart, enjoy the same kind of airspace protection as the White House in Washington. They received temporary special safety status following 9/11 in 2001. Two years later, it was made permanent. Simultaneously, flying over sporting events with a capacity for over 30,000 people was banned through the congressional act known as Operation Liberty Shield."

[Grins]

29. I used to fly my plane in this area quite a bit.

Orlando.

Never saw a Disney flight restriction. Until now. (And no, it wasn't because Disney asked for it.)

At Disney properties in both Fla. and Calif., the restrictions went in after 9/11 at the request - of REPUBLICANS. Because of "the Mooselims!"

As for the restriction itself, the Orlando terminal chart shows the restricted airspace as a simple 3-mile radius from the center of Disney/Epcot, all the way from the surface to all of...3,000 feet - stay out. Above 3,000'? You're fine!

Most pilots like to fly above 3,000' in case all hell breaks loose and you need time to declare an emergency so you can get help/rescue, and to get some distance to so you can glide safely to the scene of the accident. In the case of my airplane, at 3,000' I could glide 6-miles.

Troy Nehls thinks he pulled one over on Disney. It will have zero effect.

PS: Google Troy Nehls to discover how and why he was fired from the Richmond (TX) Police Department. Then you'll know better than to believe him.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

32. Lauren Boebert joins Ron DeSantis' fight against Disney

Link to tweet