“The magic words are Meeska, Mooska, Mickey Mouse.” And just like that the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse would appear. Today all we need to say is politics and it could disappear or maybe relocate from Florida to Colorado.

With apparently very little else to concern himself with, Gov. Ron DeSantis has busied himself by saving kids from math books and taking on the happiest place on earth for political gain.

Much to most peoples surprise, it turns out Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck negotiated quite an amazing arrangement with the state of Florida back in the ’60s which figured heavily in getting Disney World to locate in central Florida. The agreement actually established the Reedy Creek Improvement District and allowed Disney to operate as an independent government providing services such as zoning, fire protection, utilities and infrastructure. At the time we believe Mickey probably uttered his first “Oh, Boy!”

We believe that Disney World has been at least a moderate success for the state of Florida as there seems to always be a few people from around the world as well as from the United States drawn to the area as tourists. The dollars spent could probably fund a political campaign or two. We admit we had no idea of this unique arrangement with Disney, and we would guess either Jiminy Cricket or Walt Disney came up with the concept rather than anyone seated in Tallahassee.

It seems to have been very workable for 50 years, but now politics has reared its ugly head and caused quite the racket in the Magic Kingdom. It seems Disney wrongly stepped on someone’s toes by getting involved in the political battle over “Don’t say gay” legislation. That awakened the sleeping giants in Tallahassee who remembered this self-government arrangement.

The members of the Mickey Mouse Club never should have done that, because Gov. DeSantis is not one to be opposed. Not by the legislature, not by the voters and not even by the most popular figure in the happiest place in the world. With his vision set clearly on the 2024 election, DeSantis is keeping himself in the forefront as much as possible, and if it means taking on Mickey, Minnie and Donald, then so be it.

Jiminy Cricket, the conscience of Pinocchio, would probably have a problem with the governor’s attack on the Kingdom, not because the Kingdom should have its own laws but because it shouldn’t be part of a political battle whether it was started by DeSantis or by the other Goofy.

This looks like a politically motivated contest, and we would suggest the battlefield is heavily slanted in favor of Disney with the likes of Hercules, Buzz Lightyear, Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger versus government officials. Remember “a true hero isn’t measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart,” according to Hercules. If politicians are only motivated by greed and jealousy, there will be no “Hakuna Matata.”

— RV