Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has once again taken the fight to his political enemies — and in doing so, has sparked a debate among conservatives over the proper use of state power.
At DeSantis's behest, the state legislature has moved to strip Walt Disney World of its special, self-governing status in Florida. Many of the legal privileges the company enjoys could — and frankly, should — be objected to by principled opponents of crony capitalism. But it is also plain that the move is less motivated by anti-cronyism than retribution for Disney's opposition (under activist and employee pressure) to the state's newly enacted parental rights law colloquially known to detractors as the "Don't Say Gay" bill.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This new approach sits uneasily alongside recent conservative defenses of Hobby Lobby and Masterpiece Cakeshop. But the new right would respond by saying that liberals are already wielding state power against such entities and have long treated politics as a way to reward friends and punish enemies. The rule of law is already under assault.
There is a growing sense among conservatives that the time has come to compete with progressives on their own terms, or at least remind companies that Republicans buy sneakers, too. And a successful libertarian populism will rely at least as much on "Go woke, go broke" as appeals to abstract principles.
Of course, without limiting or consistent principles, this can become a red vs. blue race to the statist bottom quickly. Real conservatives are right to be uncomfortable. But if corporate institutions are being unfairly advantaged in ways that a sincere anti-cronyist would oppose, it may not make sense to resist politicians who act accordingly, but out of more cynical motives.
We've long known that reflexively defending existing businesses is not always the best defense of free markets.
-
Critics’ choice: Watering holes for gourmandsFeature An endless selection of Mexican spirits, a Dublin-inspired bar, and an upscale Baltimore pub
-
Argentinian beef is at the center of American farmers’ woesThe Explainer ‘It feels like a slap in the face to rural America,’ said one farmer
-
‘Businesses that lose money and are uncompetitive won’t survive’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Young Republicans: Does the GOP have a Nazi problem?Feature Leaked chats from members of the Young Republican National Federation reveal racist slurs and Nazi jokes
-
Will Republicans kill the filibuster to end the shutdown?Talking Points GOP officials contemplate the ‘nuclear option’
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Actspeed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Are inflatable costumes and naked bike rides helping or hurting ICE protests?Talking Points Trump administration efforts to portray Portland and Chicago as dystopian war zones have been met with dancing frogs, bare butts and a growing movement to mock MAGA doomsaying
-
Shutdown: Are Democrats fighting the right battle?Feature Democrats are holding firm on health insurance subsidies as Trump ramps up the pain by freezing funding and vowing to cut more jobs
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-offSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Why is this government shutdown so consequential?Today's Big Question Federal employee layoffs could be in the thousands
