It's generals versus Republicans over defense budget

When Rep. Paul Ryan said that top military brass was lying to Congress, insisting that the generals didn't give Congress their "true advice" about the proposed defense budget, he exposed a rift between the Pentagon and congressional Republicans that has prompted Kevin Baron of the National Journal to issue a challenge:

If the senior-most Republican in the Senate knows of dissenters in the senior ranks, it's time to produce them. Put them on the witness stand and roll tape. Under the protection of giving their "best military advice," heretofore silent dissenters should tell the public why they oppose what the administration has put forth. This is national security, after all, and the nation is at war. McConnell’s and Ryan's offices didn’t respond to queries, and conservative surrogates wouldn't name names.

And while Ryan and the Republican leadership continue to insist—with no evidence—that the military wants a larger share of the budget, Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz says:

"I'm not sure to whom [McConnell and Ryan] are talking, but I can tell you with certainty, it isn't the Joint Chiefs.”

Republicans are taking on the Pentagon, directly challenging the generals and calling them liars, for a political tool to use against President Obama. I'm old enough to remember when John Boehner would have said something like this was "character assassination" and "disrespectful and downright reprehensible."

Meanwhile, Mitt Romney, who has embraced all things Paul Ryan, is silent. But he'll certainly say something about this besmirching of the nation's top generals ... as soon as he figures out which direction to shake his Etch A Sketch.