Exposes fissures

Florida’s Scott exposes fissures with DeSantis

“My experience with Disney had been positive,” Scott said.

By GARY FINEOUT

Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott on Wednesday showed an unwillingness to embrace the harsh rhetoric of Gov. Ron DeSantis over Disney’s rejection of Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” bill, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by opponents.

Scott said he supports the legislation and complained during a lengthy television interview on Bloomberg Television and also on Twitter about “woke companies” such as Disney, which also came under fire for not taking a stance on the bill until Florida lawmakers approved it.

But the former two-term governor sidestepped a question on whether Florida legislators should repeal a half-century state law that created a special district for the theme park that allows it to essentially establish its own independent government. DeSantis previously said he’d be “receptive” to making changes to that law.

“My experience with Disney had been positive,” Scott said.

Scott’s less combative tone over Disney is another reminder of the stylistic and policy differences between the two Florida Republicans, with both being seen as potential 2024 challengers if former President Donald Trump does not run again. It also highlights other areas where the two Florida Republicans diverge, including on using federal aid and the current Russian invasion in Ukraine.

DeSantis and Scott have had an icy relationship ever since the former congressman moved into the governor’s mansion. DeSantis in 2020, for example, authorized an investigation into Florida’s deeply troubled $77 million unemployment website portal that was established when Scott served as the state’s governor. The site repeatedly crashed during the pandemic and the state’s chief inspector general faulted the companies that built the portal and the Scott administration.

Scott has also run afoul of Republican Senate leadership after he released an 11-point policy proposal that Republicans feared would open them up to criticism. Scott’s policy proposal also drew heavy criticism from LGBTQ rights supporters, who denounced a section in the plan that claimed “Men and women are biologically different, ‘male and female He created them.’”

Many public health agencies and scientists maintain that gender is a social construct and does not necessarily correlate with sex assigned at birth.

During the Bloomberg TV interview, Scott, who is also the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, continued to fault states that used billions in Covid-19 relief money — which included his home state — for spending items unrelated to battling the pandemic. Scott, who famously canceled a high speed rail project destined for Florida and returned $2.4 billion in federal assistance, has constantly railed at the billions sent to state and local governments as wasteful.

DeSantis, however, has has been unapologetic about accepting the money and used it to fill in budget gaps and for some of his priorities, such as giving $1,000 bonuses to teachers and police officers.

Scott, however, stuck by his criticism on Wednesday.

“If there’s something that we needed to do to deal with the Covid crisis, I get it,” Scott said. “But you’re sending money to states so that they can spend anyway they want.”

Scott, meanwhile, has expressed sharper criticism of Russia and Vladimir Putin and has called for on all state government to “take every action possible” to end relationships with the Russian government and Russian-owned businesses after Russian troops invaded Ukraine. Florida has not taken any action to divest an estimated $300 million in holdings, although the value of those investments have likely declined in value and investment managers now say they can’t access it.

DeSantis and many other Republicans in Florida have escalated their attacks on Disney amid the company’s jumbled response to the passage of the legislation that bans classroom instruction on gender identity or sexual orientation with children in the third grade or lower. The law also prohibits lessons in other grades unless they are “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate.” LGBTQ rights advocates have condemned the new law, saying it will marginalize students and could lead to LGBTQ students being bullied or even dying by suicide.

Disney was initially publicly silent as the bill moved through the Legislature, but then criticized it after it was approved. The company has also paused political donations in the state. DeSantis said the company had “crossed the line” after Disney stated the law should be repealed. Days later, DeSantis said he would support looking at whether special privileges given to Disney by the state should be rescinded.

“There are certain entities that have exerted a lot of influence through corporate means to generate special privileges in the law,” DeSantis said last week. “I don’t think we should have special privileges in the law at all.”

Scott, however, did not say whether he supported taking that action.

“When I was governor, it never was an issue,” said Scott, who did fault the company for its decision to film parts of the live-action version of “Mulan” in a region of China where they have forced Uyghur Muslims into detainment camps. “I think Disney has been a responsible corporate citizen. I don’t understand why they’re now getting involved in some of these political issues.”