The loser caucus meets the General

Jonathon Gurwitz:

...

So you see how this is going to go, general. Iraq is complex. You know there can be progress on the security front and disappointments on the political front. But reporting good news — any good news — makes you either a liar or a stooge because it deviates from the narrative that most Democrats and a few Republicans have written for the next 14 months — that is, until the next general election.

Of course if they really believed you were a liar, they'd cashier you instead of sending you back to Iraq. If they really believed Iraq was a lost cause, they'd cut off funding for the U.S. military presence rather than passing defense budgets and supplemental appropriations with hundreds of billions of dollars for continued operations.

They won't do either. Not because the military geniuses in Congress are heartened by modest signs of progress or hold even a slim hope for something that might resemble stability. Rather, it's because they're fearful that if you're right, they might lose.

I think Gurwitz has captured the moment. He has called the Democrat's bluff. If they really believed their rhetoric they would not agree to send him back to work. Hopefully others will notice this reality.