“Woke corporations shouldn’t get any favors from the government,” Boebert said, employing DeSantis’ rhetoric. “No corporation should get preferential treatment from the government—especially when it is grooming children. Go woke, go broke.”
That’s clarifying. Okay, shhhh … don’t tell the MAGAs, but attacking so-called “woke” corporations isn’t exactly winning over any voters outside the MAGA bubble. In March, a USA Today/Ipsos poll found a 56% majority of Americans view the term “woke” in a positive light, while 39% view the term negatively.
DeSantis’ declining fortunes are another data point to consider. If his war on “woke” is such a winner, why is he tanking nationally? Certainly, DeSantis’ anti-woke crusade isn’t the only reason he’s losing ground, but it clearly isn’t stanching the bleeding, either.
But here’s where things get really bad for the MAGA geniuses: Attacking Disney is unpopular. Not only do people around the world love Disney but so do the MAGA faithful, according to focus groups of two-time Trump voters conducted by Sarah Longwell, host of The Focus Group podcast. As Longwell wrote in The Atlantic this week:
Criticism of [DeSantis’] culture-war crusade against Disney has come up as well. “Everything about that is why I’m not necessarily a big fan of him,” said Wesley, a Republican from Maryland. “I get the impression that he very much governs to the people on the internet more so than the people in his state.”
Colleen, a Republican from Georgia, called DeSantis’s war with Disney “a little goofy,” saying, “It’s Disney World! Leave it alone.” Informed about DeSantis’s suggestion to build a prison next to the theme park, Ruth—a Michigan Republican—exclaimed, “Why would you do that? That’s terrible.”
It will be interesting to see how many House Republicans sign on to Nehls’ bills. But given the way the Disney dispute is playing for DeSantis, Democrats should hope the bill catches fire with House Republicans.
Whether Nehls has a legitimate point is beside the matter: His Disney broadside will be just one more issue where Republicans have gone off the rails.
“It’s Disney World! Leave it alone,” sums it up nicely.
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DeSantis escalates his bizarre war on Disney
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How do you make a campaign ad that voters actually want to watch? We’re discussing that critical question on this week’s episode of “The Downballot” with leading Democratic ad-maker Mark Putnam, who’s been responsible for some of the most memorable spots in recent years. Putnam details his creative process, which always starts with spending time with candidates to truly learn their story—and scouting locations in-depth. He then walks us through the production of the famous Jason Kander-assembles-a-gun-blindfolded ad that went viral and explains why, believe it or not, you always want footnotes in your attack ads.
Kerry Eleveld
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