DeSantis' Right-Wing Rival Sides With Disney In 'Woke' War (Sort Of)

Republicans traditionally have been the party that supports business. That's taken a lot of forms, but the classic member of the Grand Old Party supports lower taxes and fewer regulations and stands against unions.

In the modern era, being a member of any political party seems to have taken on connotations beyond whether you support higher taxes on business profits or raising the minimum wage. Now, candidates can't simply paint their feelings about  business with a broad brush.

DON'T MISS: DeSantis Takes a New Shot at Disney as 'Woke' War Continues

That's because in the current political world not every business gets treated equally by some candidates. Companies now get judged for their perceived political beliefs even if those beliefs have no impact on the core goal of making money.

Instead of treating all businesses the same way, Republican candidates for president, including Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, have waged a culture war against certain companies. Target  (TGT) - Get Free Report has fallen victim to this for selling Pride Month clothing, even though Walmart  (WMT) - Get Free Report also sells Pride gear without receiving similar fallout.

Anheuser-Busch (BUD) - Get Free Report has famously also been caught up in this political maelstrom and DeSantis has made Walt Disney (DIS) - Get Free Report a special target is his so-called war on woke, which broadly targets companies that support inclusivity. 

Disney, however, has received extra attention from the Florida governor, even as the company is the largest single-site employer in his state and a massive driver of tourism revenue.

That's a mistake, according to former Vice President Mike Pence, who is a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.

Pence Says DeSantis Is Abusing His Power

Pence, a longshot candidate for the Republican nomination, says the market and consumers will punish companies for being woke. He explained his position in an essay published on Reason, a Libertarian website. He wrote that "the answer to such challenges is not to demand government intervention -- it is to use free market principles to fix the free market itself."

That's playing out in real-time, according to the former vice president.

"That is exactly what is happening around the country," he wrote. 

"After Bud Light drew controversy for embracing progressive gender politics, sales plummeted nationwide. In recent weeks, the same thing has happened to Target for similar reasons. Shares of both companies have suffered substantial losses. Without government lifting a finger, woke companies are being called to account for their ideological excesses." 

Pence says that the same thing would happen with Disney because of the company's public stand against DeSantis's so-called Don't Say Gay legislation and its other "left-wing values."

"When the governor of Florida decided to launch a full-scale campaign of governmental retribution against Disney, he wasn't taking a page out of the conservative playbook -- he was following in the footsteps of the radical left," Pence wrote.

"In doing so, he not only risked billions of dollars of investment and thousands of jobs for the state, but even more importantly, he turned his back on the principles that make our country great." 

Pence made clear that he believes conservative consumers would have hurt Disney's bottom line without DeSantis's political retribution. He also believes that the government should not be using its power to punish companies that support different values.

"The bottom line is this: Conservatives can either be for politically motivated government intervention in the private sector, or we can be against it," he wrote.