Desperate Ron is Desperate

Remember when Florida's idiot governor Ron DeSantis decided to go to war with Disney World and in return got blindsided by legal maneuvers that underscored how idiotic he was?

Well, DeSantis came up with a new gameplan: Begging Disney Inc to just give up and stop fighting him. I may be embellishing his exact words but that's how it's sounding. Kevin Breuninger at CNBC has the official report on it: 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday said that Disney CEO Bob Iger should drop his company’s lawsuit accusing the Republican governor of political retaliation.

“They’re suing the state of Florida. They’re going to lose that lawsuit,” DeSantis said in an interview with CNBC’s “Last Call” set to air in full at 7 p.m. ET.

“So what I would say is, drop the lawsuit,” the governor said when asked what he would tell Iger if he were to give him a call today...

“So all we want to do is treat everybody the same, and let’s move forward. I’m totally fine with that. But I’m not fine with giving extraordinary privileges, you know, to one special company at the exclusion of everybody else,” he said...

There's a criminal investigation going on right now where DeSantis and his state buddies did provide special favors to a company, but I digress. Back to Breuninger:

In February, DeSantis signed a bill putting the district under his control by letting him handpick its five-member board of supervisors. That new board accused Disney of thwarting its power by crafting long-term development deals. In April, the DeSantis board voted to nullify those contracts, prompting Disney to sue in federal court.

The company alleges DeSantis “orchestrated at every step” a campaign of government retaliation “as punishment for Disney’s protected speech.”

DeSantis and the other defendants in the lawsuit have asked for the case to be dismissed.

The governor said in Monday’s interview that he and his allies have “basically moved on” from the feud.

“I would just say, go back to what you did well. I think it’s going to be the right business decision, and all that,” he said...

Know what I hear in DeSantis' pleadings?

Panic.

DeSantis is getting trounced in the primaries before the debates even start. His plan to worm his way into the Far Right voting base's hearts is failing because he doesn't have the crass charisma that trump has. All of his pandering - the legislation to curtail abortion in the state, the anti-gay anti-trans laws, The War Against Woke, the dismantling of Florida's educational system, literal whitewashing of history to deny slavery's true impact on all Americans both Black and White - hasn't won many nationwide MAGA voters to make himself the party's alternate choice if/when trump becomes unavailable as a candidate due to a slight case of JAIL.

DeSantis needs a clear victory in the Culture War he's committed to fighting. Ergo, he needs Disney's scalp on a pike to show off to voters he can crush his enemies.

Thing is, Disney is bigger and more powerful than any mere governor of a state. They've spent decades protecting their brand from trademark offenders and copycats, winning enough battles to remind everyone on the planet you do not fuck with Disney.

CEO Iger and the rest of the corporation has to understand if they roll over now for DeSantis - before any courts have even heard the matter at hand - they become the target of every other tin-pot politician in other states looking to tear apart the "diversity" brand that made the company billions in profits.

If DeSantis really wants to end the lawsuits - if he REALLY wants to prove he's "moved on" from the battle - he needs to undo the legislation that took away Disney's tax district, and DeSantis needs to shut down his cronyist committee he put into place to harass the Disney corporation. If DeSantis goes the extra mile to undo the anti-gay anti-trans laws he signed, that would help smooth over some of the bad feelings he's created in this whole mess.

And DeSantis needs to apologize to Princess Lilibet of Sussex for wasting everyone's time.

Otherwise, Disney ought to pile on the lawyers and lawsuits until Desperate Ron begs for utter mercy.

Remind the world, Iger: Nobody fucks with Disney.