Orlando

Monday

Amber Duke

Revealed: how Disney hijacked Reedy Creek to become its own government

A soon-to-be-public audit of Disney’s special governing district in Florida details the “shocking” ways in which the nearly $200 billion company was effectively governing itself for half a century. Investigators described the Reedy Creek Improvement District as Disney’s “creature” that maximized company profits at the expense of Floridians, according to a copy of the report obtained by The Spectator. Disney placated Reedy Creek employees with millions of dollars' worth of special park passes, significant discounts on cruises, food and merchandise and handpicked leadership through shady land deals to ensure that Reedy Creek would do its bidding.

disney reedy creek

Wednesday

Cockburn

Inside the Orlando House GOP conference

Too much Trump, or not enough Trump? That is the question that everyone from journalists to Republican elected officials had on their minds as the House GOP apparatus descended on the Marriott in Orlando for its annual retreat. Cockburn managed to sneak into a spare hotel room. During the Hotel California-esque conference, Republicans ate, drank and were merry. But Donald Trump was on everyone’s minds, both during the daytime sessions and at the happy hours that stretched into the wee hours of the morning.  You'll be shocked to hear that no one expressed support for Alvin Bragg, the George Soros-funded district attorney who may or may not be arresting the former president. Many of those gathered compared the Manhattan DA's actions to those of a tinpot dictator.

house gop conference orlando

Sunday

Amber Duke

The GOP isn’t quitting on Trump

Will he or won't he? Americans tired of the rampant speculation are surely having a relief-filled two months. First Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady responded to a hasty ESPN report by announcing his retirement from the NFL. Then, former president Donald Trump told a roaring crowd at CPAC that he intends to run for America's highest office a third time. "We did it twice, and we’ll do it again,” Trump said. “We’re going to be doing it again." Trump's announcement is a gut punch for other 2024 contenders who secretly hoped he'd step back and play kingmaker.

cpac trump
Matt McDonald

He’s back: Trump flirts with 2024 run in first speech since leaving office

Donald Trump was over an hour late for his first speech since leaving the White House at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida. The former president finally emerged at 4:47 p.m., kissing the American flag as the PA system blasted Lee Greenwood’s ‘God Bless the USA’. He waited, applauding the crowd for the duration of the song before beginning his prepared remarks at 4:50 p.m. ‘Hello CPAC — do you miss me yet?’ he asked the crowd. Trump quickly laid to rest some of the stories that have swirled since his departure from office. ’We’re not starting new parties,’ Trump said. ‘We have the Republican party…that was fake news.’ He then launched into the issue everyone expected him to tackle: immigration.

florida
Amber Duke

Florida rules

They say everything is bigger in Texas, but everything is just better in Florida. I was lucky enough to snag a speaking invitation for this year’s CPAC and, eager to escape the lockdowns and wintry winds of DC, hopped on a plane to sunny and free Orlando, Florida. Whereas refusing to wear a mask outdoors in DC is an act of resistance, in Florida it’s expected. Some businesses have their own indoor mask mandates, but they are often loosely enforced if at all. At first, mingling and schmoozing in a crowded bar without a mask felt naughty. By my second night in town, I reveled in the freedom. No flimsy piece of cloth would slow down my ability to slam old fashioneds and inhale jumbo shrimp.

Thursday

Cockburn

No sex, please, we’re national conservatives

Orlando, Florida   Cockburn just got back from the second annual National Conservatism Conference in Orlando, Florida. The ballroom of the Orlando Hilton can hold more than a thousand people. A little snowbird tells Cockburn that Yoram Hazony, the event's organizer, was in panic mode in the days before the summit. Not enough people had paid for the $315 ticket or $2,500 VIP pass. It seems even DC politicos had better things to do on Halloween than listen to Josh Hawley scream about porn. Cockburn hears that every right-wing organization in attendance received emails from Hazony begging them to help ship out more people. In the end, the official turnout was 700 attendees — though a hundred of them were the ladies and gentlemen of the press, and most of them were on a freebie.

national conservatives