Here Everything’s Bad, says GOP
There aren’t many things that unite Texans. Even barbecue and Willie Nelson can be the cause of disagreements these days. H-E-B, however, has been one of our few unifying forces.
The San Antonio-based grocery chain has deep roots in the state and has established itself over the years as something of a gold standard when it comes to customer service and civic responsibility. It’s embedded in our culture.
But some Republican leaders in this state are bent on picking a fight with H-E-B.
Delegates at Republican Senate district conventions in four Texas counties — Harris, Trinity, Tyler and Brazoria — recently passed a resolution denouncing H-E-B Chairman Charles Butt, and, by extension, the family business he runs. Their aim is to get a similar resolution passed next month at the party’s state convention in San Antonio.
They are targeting the leader of a company that has more than 420 stores in Texas and Mexico, and employs more than 145,000 people. A business that donates 5% of its pretax profits to charitable causes.
What are Butt’s great sins, in the eyes of GOP delegates?
They’re angry because he supports public education and has helped Republican candidates who oppose school vouchers, which would siphon taxpayer money away from public schools. Education is a major passion for Butt. In 2017, he pledged $100 million to train school leaders. In 2022, he committed $10 million to help construct a new elementary school in Uvalde after 19 children and two teachers were murdered at Robb Elementary School by a mass shooter. In the wake of the 2020 George Floyd murder, he donated $1 million to Prairie View A&M University to support its Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice.
In a more rational political environment, the Texas GOP would be commending Butt for all his philanthropic acts. But rationality isn’t a strong suit of the Texas GOP these days.
The resolution also said Butt “advocated against election integrity and supported universal and mail in ballots for all in Texas, which would have led to rampant voter fraud.”
What Butt actually did was submit a letter to the Texas Supreme Court in support of Harris County’s bid, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, to send unsolicited mail-in ballot applications to all eligible voters in the county.
This action sparked a legal challenge from Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Keep in mind that Harris County merely sought to send ballot applications, not actual ballots. All applications submitted by voters still had to be approved by the county elections office.
For Butt, the issue came down to public safety. In the same way his stores tried to serve their customers in the safe st possible way during the pandemic, he regarded Harris County’ s ballot application move as an effort to protect “those who are vulnerable from unnecessary exposure in this new COVID world in which we’re living.”
The GOP resolution goes on to blast H-E-B for being “one of the largest recipients of food stamps in Texas.”
That might have something to do with the fact that H-E-B is also one of the biggest grocery chains in the state and accepting food stamps is something grocery stores routinely do. Are these Republican delegates suggesting that Texas grocery stores should reject food stamps?
One of the most puzzling items in the resolution is its assertion that H-E-B has “sponsored drag queen shows for children.” The allegation seems to be based on a July 2022 piece by the right-wing Texas Scorecard, which stated that H-E-B sponsored Rainbow on the Creek, a June 2022 Pride Month celebration at Austin’s Waterloo Park.
The event’s website listed and thanked 16 sponsors, including Google, PNC Bank and Tito’s Handmade Vodka. H-E-B was not listed among those sponsors.
Ultimately, however, some Texas Republicans are looking for any excuse to demonize Butt and his business. The new resolution is meant as a signal to Republican candidates that Butt is an enemy and they shouldn’t affiliate with him in any way. It’s part of the Texas GOP’S relentless drive to tighten the parameters of what policy positions are considered acceptable by the party.
Supporting public education or wanting to ensure public safety during a pandemic shouldn’t make you a divisive figure. But in this state, in our current political climate, doing the right thing can be controversial.
Voucher-obsessed delegates pick a fight with beloved grocer; Texans won’t buy it