Goofy and Snow White Wail from the Cheap Seats “I Want My Citizens United”

Or The Mouse That Ate Ron DeSantis

“In 2010, the organization won a U.S. Supreme Court case known as Citizens United v. FEC, which struck down as unconstitutional a federal law prohibiting corporations and unions from making expenditures in connection with federal elections.”

So to summarize: In February of ’22 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis set forth an edict on high declaring that sexuality and gender cannot be discussed in Florida schools:

“…a Florida school district ‘may not encourage classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.’ The bill doesn’t specify how ‘age-appropriate’ and ‘developmentally appropriate’ would be defined.”

Disney World has been Florida’s 2nd largest employer for fifty years and unsurprisingly their workforce is largely LGBQT+ — or LGBQT+ friendly — so Goofy, Snow White and friends were having none of this. Nor were Disney’s longtime affiliates:

“The Human Rights Campaign will not accept this money from Disney until we see them build on their public commitment and work with LGBTQ+ advocates to ensure that dangerous proposals, like Florida’s Don’t Say Gay or Trans bill, don’t become dangerous laws, and if they do, to work to get them off the books.” ~ Human Rights Campaign

“…we chose not to take a public position on it because we thought we could be more effective working behind-the-scenes, engaging directly with lawmakers — on both sides of the aisle.”

After that — along with intense pressure from the Disney workforce — the initially toothless response by then Disney CEO Bob Chapek morphed into one of reluctant defiance when he announced the Disney Company’s opposition to the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.

The abrupt ditching of Chapek and return of Bob Iger as Disney CEO last Fall tells the tale. It is true that while Disney is a huge company with other substantial concerns to be resolved more effectively than Chapek appeared capable of managing, I would proffer that Bob Iger, known for being a street fighter — and a politically ambitious left-leaning Independent— was brought…