Kerr County Commissioner spends radio show attacking Charles Butt, H-E-B for “grooming”

Esteemed Kerr County Precinct 1 Commissioner Harley David Belew spent a big chunk of his Tuesday radio show blasting H-E-B CEO Charles Butt and the grocery chain for daring to support LGBTQ+ communities.

Belew suggested that H-E-B condoned pedophilia because it supported an Austin pride event that held a drag queen show. Belew was reading from the right-wing website Texas Scorecard, which mimics talking points directed at the LGBTQ+ community. Most of those suggest anyone LGBTQ+ is “grooming” children for sex.

Charles Butt is unpopular with ultraconservative groups over funding public education projects, teacher scholarships and other initiatives. He called Butt a hypocrite for backing what Belew described as anti-school choice campaigns.

Butt, who has run H-E-B since 1971, has given to both Republican and Democratic candidates donations. Belew scoffed at Butt’s giving to Republicans and speculated that his philanthropic work in the LGBTQ+ community would lead to further child sexualization.

Of course, Kerrville’s Butt-Holdsworth Memorial Library is named for Charles Butt’s mother, and Belew didn’t hold back there: “You know the Kerrville Library has the Butt name on it, the H-E-B family name on it, and they’ve got those grooming books in the kids’ section. We’re trying to get that taken care of.”

Belew scoffed at H-E-B’s hold on Texas as one of its iconic businesses — it is the second largest privately held grocery-store chain in the U.S. With a valuation of more than $38 billion, H-E-B employs more than 140,000 people.

“When you get that big, what happens?” Belew said. “The lefties weasel their way in. This is what I’ve always told you.”