Turns out people don’t think the government should punish employers for supporting a “woke” agenda
I don’t think Ron DeSantis cares about any of this because he believes he’s going to win Florida handily and that his job right now is to curry favor with the Trump cult nationally in anticipation of a 2024 or 2028 run. These guys know they don’t need a majority to be president anymore.
Still, in a real democracy this kind of result would be important to ambitious politicians like DeSantis:
A bipartisan majority of U.S. voters oppose politicians punishing companies over their stances on social issues, a cold reception for campaigns like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ against Walt Disney Co (DIS.N), a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The two-day poll completed on Thursday showed that 62% of Americans – including 68% of Democrats and 55% of Republicans – said they were less likely to back a candidate who supports going after companies for their views.
DeSantis signed a bill last week that strips Disney of self-governing authority at its Orlando-area parks in retaliation for its opposition to a new Florida law that limits the teaching of LGBTQ issues in schools. read more
For DeSantis, a rising star in the Republican Party, it was an attempt to bolster his conservative credentials as a culture warrior ahead of a possible run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
But even when prompted along the lines of DeSantis’ own argument for his action – that laws should remove benefits of government tax breaks from corporations that push a “woke” agenda – 36% of Republicans nationally said they would be less likely to support a candidate with such a view.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll still showed that DeSantis, 43, is a potential force in national Republican politics.
Presented with a list of prominent politicians, a full 25% of Republican respondents said DeSantis best represents the values of their party, second only to former President Donald Trump who was favored by 40% of Republicans. Texas Governor Greg Abbott garnered 9%.
The only surprise there is that Trump is only at 40% among Republicans. Of course, that’s now. They’ll all eagerly vote for him when he wins the nomination, I’m sure.