That’s how long it’s been since the Democratic-led Senate passed a budget. And with no clear plan in sight, this delay is starting to get some attention.

“Do you know it’s been almost two years since the senate has passed a budget?” Byron York asked on Fox News this morning. “And it appears to be no closer than it was a month ago.”

The implosion of the Gang of Six budget talks this morning was yet another setback in what has seemed like a never-ending process. There is a chance that the discussions may not recover from Senator Tom Coburn’s decision to temporarily drop out. And there isn’t much optimism that the Joe Biden panel on the deficit will speed things up, with reports indicating that it’s still in the early stages of talks.

The Democrats are eager to keep engaging in these backroom discussions because they know they will face serious problems if they take a plan to the public. Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson has already flat-out said that he won’t support any tax hikes. And without tax increases, the Democrats will risk losing the support of party liberals like Bernie Sanders.

“[T]hey cannot bring forth a budget their members support that the American people will support, and they understand that, they know that, and they’ve got a big problem,” Republican Jeff Sessions said in a statement yesterday.

Maybe the Democrats believe that if they delay long enough, then lawmakers will be forced to put the long-term problems on the backburner in order to deal with the debt ceiling. This is the worst type of cynical politics. These issues shouldn’t be pushed to the side any longer, and it’s time for the Democrats to face them regardless of the political risk.