In the good old days, we used to think that in a democracy we should have a level playing field. This meant that candidates made their case to voters and did everything they could to get supporters to vote.
The elections were hard-fought and often unpleasant, but the idea was that the person who could get the most votes would win.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis doesn’t think that will work for him. It seems he needs the power of Florida government to help him advance his political career.
This is the story of his battle with the Walt Disney Co.
It is essential to be clear about the issue here. It could be argued that Florida has been too generous in its subsidies to Disney, especially by ceding control of a portion of the state’s territory to Disney. People who live in the area near Disney World in Florida do not vote for city or county officials; their community is governed by Disney.
This is an agreement that goes back more than 50 years. Florida should never have offered this kind of concession to attract Disney. I should definitely look to get it back now.
But that’s not the problem here. DeSantis has made it clear that he is not going for Disney because he believes that the state has been too generous with the company. He’s going after Disney because he publicly disagrees with their politics.
DeSantis says he has the right to use the power of Florida government to attack Disney for political reasons. And the problem isn’t just Disney.
By attacking Disney, one of the most influential companies in the country, DeSantis is sending a warning. He is willing to use the power of the state government against any company or individual who might oppose his political ambitions.
Apparently, DeSantis is worried about his prospects in a fair election. He feels that he needs the power of the government behind him to advance in politics.
Unfortunately, DeSantis is not the only prominent Republican who believes he needs to use the power of government to advance his political ambitions. When he was president, Donald Trump repeatedly used the power of government to punish his political enemies.
The most visible case was probably when Trump had the Pentagon review a major contract that would be awarded to Amazon’s Web Services division to manage its cloud computing. Trump was upset about his coverage in The Washington Post, which is owned by Jeff Bezos, then Amazon’s CEO and largest shareholder.
As a result of Trump’s intervention, the contract was delayed for several years. It was eventually awarded to a consortium that included Amazon and several of its competitors.
To be clear, there were legitimate questions to be raised about Amazon’s dealings with the Pentagon. Military recruitment is not a pretty process. But Trump wasn’t concerned about the cleanliness of the hiring process. He wanted to punish a perceived enemy.
The other significant instance in which Trump used the power of government to punish a perceived enemy was when he brought in the Justice Department to try to block AT&T’s takeover of Time Warner.
Time Warner owns CNN. Trump was unhappy with CNN’s coverage of his campaign and presidency, so he saw the proposed merger as an opportunity to punish his parent company.
He wanted Time Warner to drop CNN as a condition of allowing the merger. (The Justice Department lost the lawsuit, and the merger went through.)
As with DeSantis and Disney, the issues go far beyond these particular conflicts and companies. DeSantis and Trump were trying to tell companies that there would be serious economic consequences if they didn’t toe their political line.
Businesses are primarily concerned with making money. If they believe their bottom line will suffer if they don’t obey the wishes of powerful Republican officials, they will try to adjust to make them happy.
This is not the way democracy is supposed to work, but as we know, Republicans have trouble even saying the word “democratic.” So look for many more shenanigans from Republicans like DeSantis and Trump. They cannot compete on equal terms; they need help
Dean Baker is an economist and co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
