A picture is worth 1,000 words: Democrats hard at work

...or, as Townhall's Guy Benson puts it, this picture is worth 1,086 words -- one for each day the Senate's Democrat majority has failed to produce a budget plan.

This pic, snapped by a GOP Budget Committee staffer Wednesday afternoon, shows the empty chairs on the near side of the table where Democrat members were supposed to sit.  At this point, it appears that Senate Dems aren't even showing up to discuss a viable budget plan.  Of the 12 Democrats on the committee, only 3 or 4 bothered to show up:

"[The Democrats] showed absolutely no interest in discussing our big picture problems or offering solutions," a GOP budget aide told Townhall. "Those who were there showed up only to make a brief statement for the record, then took off.  The photo speaks for itself."

GOP ranking member Jeff Sessions was outspoken in his criticism of the committee's Democrats -- including Chairman Kent Conrad, D-ND -- for not taking their jobs a bit more seriously: "The fact is it's now three years—three years—into the execution of a deliberate and determined policy by the Democratic leadership of the United States Senate to avoid responsibility for the financial future of America. It's not acceptable for the Senate leadership to not face up to the challenge of our time."

The sparsely attended committee meeting was meant as a "faux mark-up" session for Democrats' FY 2013 budget resolution.  Chairman Conrad scheduled the meeting but insisted that no Senators be allowed to offer amendments or hold any votes on any aspect of an actual budget plan.

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Related: Real News from The Blaze: Senate Democrats are Ignoring the Budget... Again