News Reedy Creek Improvement District and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District

[Andrew C]

That would require cooler and/or reasonable heads on both sides, and that's just not realistic.

Dare to dream...

There's no common ground to be had with the lunatics in charge.

Well if you view the other side as lunatics, of course there would be no common ground. I would like a step away from that political rhetoric...but again, dare to dream.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Dare to dream...

Well if you view the other side as lunatics, of course there would be no common ground. I would like a step away from that political rhetoric...but again, dare to dream.

The political rhetoric is the whole reason this is an issue. Without it there is nothing. The state cannot step away because it’s all they have which is why they keep going back and continuing to escalate. This isn’t about resolving a legitimate issue regarding the district.

 

[GoofGoof]

By letting cooler heads prevail and reaching an agreement that everyone can live with...instead of the endless political war where there are no winners. I am not speaking to Disney here...I am speaking to both Iger and Ron...in fact, let me give them a call...

Didn’t Disney do just that? They didn’t sue in court for a first amendment violation and they didn’t sue to block the takeover of the district either. Instead they found a path forward within the rules and laws set out by the FL legislature and the FL constitution that they could live with. Disney isn’t getting to keep RCID in the form they had for 50+ years and the Governor has control of the board now so Disney is not self governing which is what he claimed he wanted. Seems like something both sides should be able to live with.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I am attempting no such validation. I said:

I'm merely pointing out that Disney's agreement with then-RCID has given the state another example to use in their arguments. That's it. I'm not making an argument that this was not retaliation for Disney's speech, that DeSantis was right to do what he did, that Disney was wrong to make a deal they were legally permitted to make, or anything of that nature. Again, the only thing I'm pointing out is that the tweet from the FL speaker of the house indicates that they are indeed using the agreement as "evidence."

Forgive me if this response comes across as aggressive, that is not my intention. I am responding not only to you but to several others who made similar statements suggesting I am validating the state's argument or their actions in the first place.

You keep calling it evidence and presenting not as true. When you’re lying anything can be a justification.

 

[tissandtully]

The political rhetoric is the whole reason this is an issue. Without it there is nothing. The state cannot step away because it’s all they have which is why they keep going back and continuing to escalate. This isn’t about resolving a legitimate issue regarding the district.

Exactly, these are very unserious people who aren't actually looking to do any governing. The definition of lunatics.

 

[mikejs78]

I am attempting no such validation. I said:

I'm merely pointing out that Disney's agreement with then-RCID has given the state another example to use in their arguments. That's it. I'm not making an argument that this was not retaliation for Disney's speech, that DeSantis was right to do what he did, that Disney was wrong to make a deal they were legally permitted to make, or anything of that nature. Again, the only thing I'm pointing out is that the tweet from the FL speaker of the house indicates that they are indeed using the agreement as "evidence."

Forgive me if this response comes across as aggressive, that is not my intention. I am responding not only to you but to several others who made similar statements suggesting I am validating the state's argument or their actions in the first place.

One could also argue that the board's reaction to the agreement gave Disney another example to use in their arguments, that this is about suppressing speech.

 

[Brian]

Shouldn’t he be saying ~ after spending 50+ years playing by the rules setup by the Florida legislature over 5 decades ago Disney is now again choosing to follow the laws and statutes setup by the legislature and the FL constitution in signing this contract? So in other words the state’s argument is that Disney is somehow a villain for following the rules they setup. How do we know which laws to follow and which are supposed to be ignored? If these types of agreements are bad then why not make them illegal? Why not make special districts illegal?

Though I don't think that would be a politically wise move () , it would be an accurate statement. The only reason I point it out is that the average Floridian isn't on these boards participating in a 560 page discussion for over a year, learning the ins and outs of complex local government law along the way; they merely take the word of the leaders of their political party and will not do any research.

Much like most other political issues, the realities of the situation is much more nuanced, and requires deliberation and research to fully understand, and in most cases, you'll find you're being manipulated by the folks in charge.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Exactly, these are very unserious people who aren't actually looking to do any governing. The definition of lunatics.

"If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck."

 

[Andrew C]

Didn’t Disney do just that? They didn’t sue in court for a first amendment violation and they didn’t sue to block the takeover of the district either. Instead they found a path forward within the rules and laws set out by the FL legislature and the FL constitution that they could live with. Disney isn’t getting to keep RCID in the form they had for 50+ years and the Governor has control of the board now so Disney is not self governing which is what he claimed he wanted. Seems like something both sides should be able to live with.

I wouldn't exactly call 'stripping away the power of the board before the new board steps in' letting cooler heads prevail. That is one heck of a poison pill... I imagine Disney did what it thought needed to be done for its own protection...anyways...the escalation continues.

 

[Brian]

You keep calling it evidence and presenting not as true. When you’re lying anything can be a justification.

I put the word evidence in quotations in my posts because I acknowledge that they are being manipulative with the facts, and don't really buy the argument they are making, increasingly so in light of the information that you and others have presented during the course of this whole situation and 560 page thread.

This situation is quite nuanced, far beyond the will of the average Floridian voter to comprehend. The leadership in the state knows that and is using that to their advantage. But they're not alone, this is textbook politician behavior.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I wouldn't exactly call 'stripping away the power of the board before the new board steps in' letting cooler heads prevail. That is one heck of a poison pill... I imagine Disney did what it thought needed to be done for its own protection...anyways...the escalation continues.

Except that only happened because of the state. This deal was created before the state ever announced its plans to change the board. It was finalized weeks before the law dissolving the district was repealed.

 

[lazyboy97o]

This situation is quite nuanced, far beyond the will of the average Floridian voter to comprehend. The leadership in the state knows that and is using that to their advantage.

I don’t think they do know that which is why it seems they’re now heading for a third try.

 

[Brian]

I don’t think they do know that which is why it seems they’re now heading for a third try.

I'm going to disagree there. I do think they know, but feel compelled to do so: 1.) because they've opened a proverbial "pandora's box" and politically cannot let this go, lest it be a blight on the governor's record, and 2.) because they know that despite how unlawful or even unconstitutional their actions so far and to come may be, the issue would have to work its way through the courts, all the while (possibly years), barring a temporary injunction, keeping their new arrangement in place.

 

[tissandtully]

I wouldn't exactly call 'stripping away the power of the board before the new board steps in' letting cooler heads prevail. That is one heck of a poison pill... I imagine Disney did what it thought needed to be done for its own protection...anyways...the escalation continues.

Protecting their interests seems pretty normal for a business to do. Also it wasn't secret, like... at all.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Any chance that the Governor just tries to move on now, leave everyone with the news that so and so is investigating and then hope people forget about it in a week?

 

[JohnD]

The political rhetoric is the whole reason this is an issue. Without it there is nothing. The state cannot step away because it’s all they have which is why they keep going back and continuing to escalate. This isn’t about resolving a legitimate issue regarding the district.

You're right about that. But let's be honest. It wasn't all one-sided.

Chapek: "Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that." Argue all you want about the state's and Governor's response but if that isn't a "shot across the bow", I don't know what is. That's how all this got started and I would argue, a contributing factor to Disney working to get Chapek out of there and bring Iger back for his two year stint.

 

[Figgy1]

Any chance that the Governor just tries to move on now, leave everyone with the news that so and so is investigating and then hope people forget about it in a week?

You owe me a glass of wine and a keyboard

 

[Disstevefan1]

If Disney did claim that closing Splash Mountain was the will of the people then you have found an example of the company lying.

It was closed for social justice and social justice is the will of the people, right?
Hmmm, but then they would not be lying???

 

[Riviera Rita]

DeSantis is trying to make himself look like some kind of warrior taking on 'mighty' Disney, Captain White boots, but, he is picking on Disney knowing full well that they cannot just up and move their operations elsewhere like tech firm could do or a manufacturer like GM. In reality Captain White boots is a coward, it's unlikely he'd go after any company that spoke up against his bigoted laws if he knew they would turn around and say 'Toodle loo Ron, we can go elsewhere' knowing there are many states who would offer big breaks for moving their operations and jobs to their state and in turn destroy the economy of Central Florida where oranges and cattle were the big industries before Disney arrived.

 

[tissandtully]

You're right about that. But let's be honest. It wasn't all one-sided.

Chapek: "Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that." Argue all you want about the state's and Governor's response but if that isn't a "shot across the bow", I don't know what is. That's how all this got started and I would argue, a contributing factor to Disney working to get Chapek out of there and bring Iger back for his two year stint.

It doesn't matter, it was protected speech and the government retaliated against them.