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You are here: Home / Elections 2024 / 2024 Primaries / Late Night Open Thread: DeSquamous vs. Disney

Late Night Open Thread: DeSquamous vs. Disney

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Does Puddin’ Ron even want to run in the 2024 primary any more? Because shortly after visitors to The Happiest Place on Earth are greeted with a sign at their favorite ride saying Closed due to Ron DeSantis, the capitol building in Tallahassee will be torched.


Yes, people pointed out, this new Pride Night will be in California, not Florida — and it’s obviously been in the works for a while. But Disney’s announcement makes DeSantis look like a petty tyrant making threats he can’t enforce.

Not smart, Ron!

Reader Interactions

78Comments

  1. 1.

    Pete Downunder

    While I regard Disney parks as someplace you’d use to interrogate prisoners of war if torture wasn’t barred by the Geneva Convention, I have to say I’m all for Disney in its war against old Ron.

    He won’t talk? Run him through It’s a Small World one more time

  3. 3.

    NotMax

    the degree to which the state legislature has volunteered to be an extension of ron desantis. there’s no independence there at all, which is a little unusual even for deep red state legislators

    “Derangers, assemble!”
    //

  10. 10.

    Brachiator

    And I thought that Trump was nuts. But DeSantis is as obsessed as Captain Ahab as he keeps going after Moby Disney, the Great Rainbow Mouse.

    DeSantis is hellbent on bending Disney to his will, or something. All this, just because Disney criticized the governor’s anti gay rhetoric?

    And this guy wants to be president?

    Kid, to his mother. Mom, can we go to Disney World this summer?

    Mom. Sorry, son. President DeSantis destroyed it with missile strikes after they held a Social Security Seniors Night.

  12. 12.

    Matt McIrvin

    @ColoradoGuy: Every social media thread on a pop culture subject, if it goes on long enough, eventually gets somebody insisting it is about whether something is “woke” or not. And I’ve noticed they’re starting to get automatic derision.

  13. 13.

    opiejeanne

    I think it was Bob Schooley on Twitter who pointed out that Disney owns so much land around the perimeter of the park that building a prison “next to the park” would be like protesting at Trump Tower from Yonkers.

  16. 16.

    Ruckus

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    I think he might be sniffing some sort of gas, like helium. Or possum farts. Might be a mixture. But something is making him deranged. Could be his brain is stuck in stupid gear. Or his IQ is in single digits. Or he’s having smoke blown up his butt. Or all of the above.

    Whatever it is, and it could be a combo platter of stupid, he’s high on his own supply. And that never, ever goes well for a politician trying to get out of the shit box he’s built for himself.

  18. 18.

    Jay

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Disney retained all the building code/zoning rights, pretty much everything but roads maintainence in the take over, so DeathSantis can’t build anything “on” the area, not even a billboard.

  19. 19.

    The Thin Black Duke

    It’s terrifying to realize that DeSantis would be a worse POTUS than Trump.

  20. 20.

    Tony Jay

    @Brachiator:

    Yeah, but just imagine the size and quality of the dopamine rush he’d inject straight into the lizard brains of the MAGOP Base if he, Ronny D’oh Santos, the Florida Man with the can-bought tan, was the one who broke the Disney Corporation and turned it into a firmly yoked purveyor of wholesome entertainment that Real Americans can enjoy.

    Captain America busting the heads of BLM terrorists, Black Widow infiltrating Hunter Biden’s drug ‘n’ data smuggling business, Scarlet Witch dropping the independent woman shtick to remain a dutiful housewife making a home with her WHITE Vision hubbie and raising those kids to stay on the straight and… well, just straight will do.

    The fact that he’s got zero chance of success and is much more likely to end up as a punchline in the next tranche of Marvel releases (casting call for ‘Governor Jon Saint-Dieu, a corrupt politician who makes trouble for Ms Marvel and the Young Avengers but ends up as an incontinent cripple in a Key West nursing home’ – must look chubby in knee high boots) is by the by. A victory over the Mouse is just about the only thing that could put him over the top with Trump’s fanbase, so a victory is what he thinks he HAS to achieve.

  21. 21.

    VeniceRiley

    Disney Anaheim always had an unofficial Pride Night.

    That they now market it and come up with strategies to get you to stay longer, spend more, and perhaps cross to sister park California Adventure, maybe stay in one of their hotels… Should surprise no one who understands capitalism.

  23. 23.

    Baud

    @JWR:

    Oh wow.  The video of DeSantis is something else. He looks and sounds like a dweeb.  God, I hate that he makes me appreciate Trump’s stage presence.

  24. 24.

    Geminid

    @Baud: I think both Trump and DeSantis are weak candidates, just in different ways. And right now at least, I don’t see anyone else winning that nomination.

  25. 25.

    Baud

    @Geminid:

    I saw Tim Scott’s name floated yesterday.  But he just went all in on abortion fascism, so I don’t see what he’s going to offer someone who’s looking for an alternative to T&D.

    Maybe Sununu can pull it off, but I just don’t think there are enough primary voters left in the GOP that will settle for someone like him for the sake of electability.

    ETA: I don’t see Asa Hutchinson going anywhere.

  27. 27.

    Geminid

    @Baud: Yeah, I don’t think Sununu could pull it off either. And it’s looking pretty certain that if Trump can’t win the nomination he’ll sandbag whoever beats him.

  28. 28.

    Geminid

    @NotMax: It is early. Maybe Trump will not be as strong a year from now. But I get a sense that next year’s dynamic is locked in now. That doesn’t neccesarily mean that Trump will win the nomination., just that it will be a bitter and destructive fight, if only because Trump is a bitter and destructive guy.

  29. 29.

    Baud

    @Geminid:

    Trumpism is an opioid for the Republican base, and it’s unclear how they ween themselves from that addiction.  DeSantis has understandably chosen to sell himself as a better drug dealer, but so far, that doesn’t seem to be working.

    Trump won in 2016 because he inspired the base with his hate but he didn’t frighten enough normies and liberals.  DeSantis had frightened  liberals and some normies, but he hasn’t locked in the base yet.

  30. 30.

    cain

    I’m curious as to how he has managed to get such a servile legislature. Even the judiciary is servile! How did he manage that ?

  32. 32.

    Geminid

    @cain: It could be that gerrymandering has caused a decline in quality among Republican state legislators. I think I see this problem with the US House Republicans as well.

  33. 33.

    Gvg

    I live in Florida and I want to know why the legislature has gone all lapdog to DeSantis whom really hasn’t been around that long, isn’t that rich or connected that we know of and really I just don’t understand his control. Sure he is what he is. Why are the rest of them going along with it? Disney is import, but there are lots of other important interests in Florida too and they are all being ignored. The schools, agriculture, flooding in Ft. Lauderdale, the insurance crisis they have all been ignoring for both his terms in office. Really, what’s with these legislators? They should all be going in different local directions? It seems weird to me, possibly crooked somehow. I don’t see how it is in their interests to “help” DeSantis this much anyway even if they believe this crap.

  34. 34.

    Geminid

    @NotMax: One story lead which will not be read next July 19:

        “As strains of ‘Kumbaya” filled the air, Republicans wrapped up their 2024 national convention in Milwaukee.”

  35. 35.

    NotMax

    @Gvg

    Bulk of R’s interest is in getting elected/re-elected, not in governing once in office. Their penchant for outsourcing the writing of legislation speaks volumes.

  38. 38.

    Baud

    Ted Cruz is an ambitious guy and really full of himself, so it’s interesting he’s not visibly toying with running.

  48. 48.

    Brachiator

    @Baud:

    Trump won in 2016 because he inspired the base with his hate but he didn’t frighten enough normies and liberals.  DeSantis had frightened  liberals and some normies, but he hasn’t locked in the base yet.

    Trump is the presumptive GOP nominee because he is the former president (and current president to the crazies) and because the Republican leadership refused to cut him loose.

    What happened in 2016 is no longer applicable. The Orange Menace is known and has a record, and has moved the entire party towards Trumpism. Moderates need not apply.

    I don’t know if any other Republican can take him down. I don’t much care. I will enjoy any rage and confusion.

    It’s odd that many pundits want to see a repeat of the 2016 circus because they want to see Trump slap down contenders. They love the insults and funny names and the rallies where Trump also lashed out at the media.

    But all this stuff is played out. Trump lost in 2020. I expect him to lose in 2024.

    Supposedly the GOP will ask Trump to formally accept the nominee if it ain’t him. Wonder what he will say.

    If he wins the nomination, what are the odds that he will say that he will respect the result if he loses?

    Trump is unhinged and both Trump and DeSantis have severe anger issues. Neither is mentally stable and must be defeated.

  49. 49.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Baud: trump chewed half Cruz’s ass off the last time around. Cruz probably wants to keep what little ass he still has and besides, he still lives with Heidi.

  50. 50.

    JWR

    @Baud:

    Re: Asa Hutchinson and abortion fascism:

    I watched Sundays’ Asa Hutchinson interview with Margaret Brennen. (No, I don’t know why, but I did.) On the guns thing, he was all about “hardening the target” BS, and how it’s on all of us to change the tone and to rely on family members to warn us about their murderous relation and to let that then be adjudicated in the courts. Neither he nor Brennen ever mentioned the elephant in the room: guns. The guy really struck me as a mental doofus. Something like Mike Pence.

    I switched over to Chuck Todd’s show and heard LA. Senator Bill Cassidy opining on abortion. He’s all in on the abortion fascism thing, too. It was actually a bit stunning, especially since I’d just listened  to N.M. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham speaking eloquently and compassionately about both issues.

  51. 51.

    Anne Laurie

    @Baud: Ted Cruz is an ambitious guy and really full of himself, so it’s interesting he’s not visibly toying with running.

    I get the impression Cruz is waiting for His Dark Nemesis to send out the batsh*t signal to his loyal Qrazies, ordering them to make the DeSantis campaign non-viable… after which Cruz will chime in with his best Nelson Muntz Ha! ha!

    Rinse & repeat, if and when more challengers poke their heads over the parapets.

    Cruz *may* have an idea that he’ll stroll into the convention next year and accept the plaudits, or at least the grudging acceptance, of delegates who’ve exhausted themselves fighting over the corpses of this year’s hopefuls.  But at least he’ll be the last one standing, and surely TFG can’t hang on until 2028…

  52. 52.

    Joey Maloney

    This WaPo article (gift link) asks the same question, how did DeSandtits become so dominant in Florida politics so quickly, and then spends a whole lot of words to say, “he’s a bully, and they’re all chickenshits”.

    https://wapo.st/3MRSrub

  53. 53.

    Kathleen

    @Brachiator: Peter Panochet will build his own theme park “DeShantyWorld” comprised of cracked sidewalks, abandoned buildings. tumbleweed, and cardboard box dwellings. The characters are actors dressed snarling feral dogs and cats and the “Dancing Bread Crumbs” that children have to catch if they want to eat. The park PA system blasts “It’s A Cruel World After All” on continuous loop.

  55. 55.

    Suzanne

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Every social media thread on a pop culture subject, if it goes on long enough, eventually gets somebody insisting it is about whether something is “woke” or not. And I’ve noticed they’re starting to get automatic derision. 

    The very best thing for us (strategically) has started to occur, which is that it has become abundantly clear to normies that the “unwoke” or “asleep” crowd are big losers. They’re incel-y and ugly and unattractive and weird and they don’t have fun and they’re not very smart or successful. No one wants to be on the side with losers. People want to be associated, even if it’s just in their own minds, with cool people.

  56. 56.

    Another Scott

    @Joey Maloney: Betty pointed out last year that Ronda Santis had something like $130M in his campaign war chest.  GQP politicians are always keeping an eye on big money and wondering how to get a piece of it, and how not to be a victim of it.

    It’s another good reason why we need pubic financing of campaigns.

    Grr…,
    Scott.

  57. 57.

    Denali5

    Part of the problem is that DeSantis has been wildly successful at grabbing media attention. Why are eyes directed to him? I really don’t want to hear about it.

  59. 59.

    different-church-lady

    This keeps reminding me of the Bob Hoskins character in The Long Good Friday boasting that he’s going to take down the IRA.

  60. 60.

    MisterDancer

    @Denali5: Part of the problem is that DeSantis has been wildly successful at grabbing media attention. Why are eyes directed to him?

    He’s killing and hurting people! And he’s doing it with far, far more aggressive and toxic tactics than most of his fellow travelers, like Lee in TN or Abbot in TX.

    Those efforts bear him strange fruit, like this media attention. But — to your implication — he, and others, aren’t going to stop just because the rest of the country ignore them. The power he’s feeling doesn’t go away when the cameras do.

    We’ve seen the opposite, when the media just ignored this stuff. It was called Jim Crow.

    DeSantis, Abbot, and the others would adore us ignoring them around this stuff. They’d love to sit on stage and spout platitudes about the “success” of their reigns while millions suffer under their heel. That is, after all, how it was done “back in the day.”

  63. 63.

    Snarki, child of Loki

    @Brachiator: “President DeSantis destroyed it with missile strikes after they held a Social Security Seniors Night.”

     

    I hear that Disney moved its nuclear anti-ballistic-missile base from Anaheim (behind the ‘Small World’ ride) to Floriduh.

  64. 64.

    J R in WV

    @Pete Downunder: ​
     

    He won’t talk? Run him through It’s a Small World one more time

    We went to Disney World on it’s first day open to the public — a press day before the gates opened to the great uninvited, so wait times in lines weren’t too bad. Loved the Haunted House, thought the animatronic presidents were really weak — sad.

    Small World was… well as a punishment it would be a war crime. I read a news story not too long ago, the ride broke down, and there was a disabled patron in one of the little boats.

    They had a hard time getting them out of their imprisonment, and couldn’t turn off the sound effects without turning off the lights. Think of that law suit…!! Make the jury go in there for the time the poor captive was in there…

    MAKE IT STOP!!!!! We give up, turn Disney world over to the plaintiff !!!

  66. 66.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    DeSantis is nursing a grudge because he isn’t tall enough to ride any of the good rides at Disney.

  67. 67.

    J R in WV

    @Brachiator:

    Trump is the presumptive GOP nominee because he is the former president (and current president to the crazies) and because the Republican leadership refused to cut him loose.

    For the sake of argument, let’s say TFG is Actually Currently President. In that case, he is not eligible to run in 2024 at all. Read the Constitution — I know that’s a big ask, but SFB TFG has people who can read a little — and they can tell him that 2 swings at the Oval Office is all you ever get.

    And the Rs shouldn’t nominate him because he can’t take the office if he wins the election, a big if there, also too.

    And now we leave Nightmare Island of Death Santos Orlando Land behind us as we reenter America’s Gay Pride World. I hope you were as repulsed by this imaginary trip as I was !!!

  68. 68.

    J R in WV

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    DeSantis is nursing a grudge because he isn’t tall enough to ride any of the good rides at Disney.

    This is the best — repeated just so I can see it better now !!!

    ETA: Wife said “I didn’t realize he was so short!” and I said, he wears lifts and high heeled boots and is still short!  “Oh!”

  73. 73.

    Mike in NC

    Still looking to find and share with friends the recent cartoon of DeSantis wearing KKK robes with those shiny white knee-high shrimper boots. What a fabulous look. When we were leaving Key West a couple of years ago, we stopped into a bar where a drag queen was hosting a round of bingo. (True story: nobody was hurt or killed.)

    Florida drag queens should make it a point to mimic Governor DeFascist any way they choose.

  75. 75.

    Paul in KY

    @Gvg: I think they are craven and have thought he had/has a good chance to be President one day & know he is evil & spiteful & are scared of him for that reason. Once TFG finishes walloping on him, that perception may change.

  76. 76.

    StringOnAStick

    I figure that anyone with a R hat still in the ring, and including those who recently pulled their hats out of the ring (Pompeo, for one) are biding their time to see if tRump survives physically (Mr. Healthy he is not) or legally (please, oh please!).  They’ll be ready to jump back in with campaign staff immediately available if something takes out the Angry Yam.  Because he will scorch anyone who dares to run against him, they are making the smart moves of staying out of his firing range.  That’s why we aren’t seeing much action in the R field for 2024.

  77. 77.

    JBWoodford

    The thing I wonder about wrt the threat to send state inspectors in to check the DW rides is, basically, why weren’t they doing it before? If FL has the legal right and duty to do so, it should already be happening.

  78. 78.

    Cheese-us of Nazareth

    Why should Disney fear having a prison next door? Seems to me the dangers associated with one are securely locked up, and in the unlikely event of an escape the inmate is pretty unlikely to stick around the area. It’s not like the prison will be next to Space Mountain. I get that it clashes with the “Happiest Place On Earth” motif, but overall there are much worse neighbors.

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