{"id":1450,"date":"2026-06-11T19:08:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T19:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1450"},"modified":"2026-06-11T19:08:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T19:08:59","slug":"red-state-lawmaker-torn-apart-in-hometown-paper-for-dumb-lies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1450","title":{"rendered":"Red state lawmaker torn apart in hometown paper for ‘dumb’ lies"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Wichita Eagle columnist Dion Lefler does not suffer idiots easily. He also has no patience for Kansas senators who blow lies on \u201cpropaganda network\u201d Newsmax, blaming a long-gone president for President Donald Trump\u2019s bad choices.<\/p>\n

Read more Big Oil execs \u2018doing everything they can\u2019 to warn Trump of inflation surge<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cFaced with a threat to the U.S. beef industry, Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall has leapt into action to do what he does best \u2014 blame Joe Biden and Hispanics,\u201d writes Lefler. \u201cNever mind that his heroes, Donald Trump and Elon Musk, probably bear more responsibility because they defunded an animal-health program that was preventing the threat.<\/p>\n

Lefler said Marshall, who is a member of the Senate Agricultural Committee, got invited to Newsmax \u201cto spout some Republican party-line rhetoric\u201d about the screwworm fly, which has recently resurfaced in Texas cattle 60 years after other U.S. presidents had eradicated it from the U.S. border.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have time to write a column every time Roger Marshall goes on right-wing TV and says something dumb, but his appearance this week on the propaganda network Newsmax pretty much demands response,\u201d said Lefleur.<\/p>\n

But Marshall could not wait to blame somebody \u2014 anybody \u2014 other than Trump for the nasty little maggot\u2019s reappearance under his watch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe eradicated the screwworm in 1966 and we\u2019ll talk about this, but this is another thing we can thank Joe Biden for, that when millions of people came out of Central America, they brought this screwworm with them, it was on their pets, maybe on their flesh as well,\u201d Marshall told the Newsmax audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe probability that this problem was caused by migrants trekking northward from Central America is somewhere between vanishingly small and nonexistent,\u201d said Lefleur, who points out that scientists attribute the re-introduction of the screwworm primarily to organized crime and the smuggling of illicit cattle from Central America.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Bitter disappointment\u2019: Bloomberg tears apart Republicans for wrecking the economy<\/a><\/p>\n

The screw worm is a live maggot that burrows into living flesh like a little monster. It most definitely would not be tolerated on a living, mobile human healthy enough to travel. We\u2019re humans. We pick at spots, itchy patches and wounds. A wriggling, gnawing maggot would not stand a chance over the course of its 5-to-7-day cycle in a human\u2019s arm or leg.<\/p>\n

Perhaps Marshal was thinking about migrant dogs or cats traveling alongside their migrant owners, but that\u2019s stupid, too, said Lefleur.<\/p>\n

But if you want to seriously consider the root of the screwworm resurgence, look no further, says Lefluer, than the opinion of Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.): \u201cTrump and Elon Musk got rid of the USAID program that helped contain screwworms to Central America. Now, thanks to them, our beef is being infected with parasites. We\u2019re all paying the price for this insane, far-right radical extremism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or consider the opinion of Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.): \u201cThis screwworm epidemic may have been avoided if DOGE folks actually communicated with our ranchers. Instead, a team of wholly unqualified interns recklessly cut the screwworm prevention program. Now ranchers will suffer and beef prices will continue to rise.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Of course,] confirming exactly how much DOGE cut from screwworm protection is practically impossible at this point,\u201d added Lefluer. \u201cWhile Trump administration officials struggle at eradicating screwflies, they\u2019re experts at eradicating records of their mistakes. The website www.doge.gov, where the administration once proudly ballyhooed the supposed savings by Musk and his musketeers, is now a blank page.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more GOP strategists sweating over Trump\u2019s \u2018extremely unhelpful\u2019 midterms gaffe<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wichita Eagle columnist Dion Lefler does not suffer idiots easily. He also has no patience for Kansas senators who blow lies on \u201cpropaganda network\u201d Newsmax, blaming a long-gone president for President Donald Trump\u2019s bad choices.\u201cFaced with a threat to the U.S. beef industry, Kansas Sen. Roger Marsh…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nRed state lawmaker torn apart in hometown paper for 'dumb' lies - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1450\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Red state lawmaker torn apart in hometown paper for 'dumb' lies - Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Wichita Eagle columnist Dion Lefler does not suffer idiots easily. He also has no patience for Kansas senators who blow lies on \u201cpropaganda network\u201d Newsmax, blaming a long-gone president for President Donald Trump\u2019s bad choices.\u201cFaced with a threat to the U.S. beef industry, Kansas Sen. 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