A Wall Street Journal editorial examines the failure of the liberal majority in Congress to embrace fiscal discipline, with original plans of "pay as you go budgeting" abandoned by Budget Committee leadership when politically convenient.

As it happens, the farm bill also exposes the real purpose of paygo -- to make spending easier but tax-cutting harder. The farm bill is scheduled to expire later this month and the cost of extending it over 10 years is $597 billion. But does paygo require offsetting all the cost of the farm bill? Heavens no. The cost of extending such entitlement programs is already imbedded into the budget "baseline," and thus these programs get automatic extensions. Only new and expanded benefits have to be "paid for."

Meanwhile the Bush tax cuts, which are scheduled to expire at the end of 2010, are not part of the revenue baseline, so extending the capital gains and dividend tax cuts requires budget cuts or tax increases of $215 billion. Paygo thus virtually guarantees a gigantic tax increase in 2011.

Meanwhile, Mr. Conrad's budget adds $18 billion of new domestic spending while it rejects every penny of the $91 billion in Medicare savings over five years that President Bush proposed earlier this year. Medicare is easily the biggest driver of future federal spending, but Democrats won't agree to trim its growth even to 5% a year from 7.5%. As we say, Democrats are lucky no one is paying attention.

Politico is reporting that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is now ready to send her own version of FISA renewal legislation back to the Senate - though this revision has no hope of being passed into law.  Pelosi's strategy is to have the Senate iron out the details of the bill that the Democratic caucus in the House were unable to resolve.

After weeks of negotiations and no final settlement, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) signaled Thursday night that she is ready to fall back on the strategy of “ping-ponging” alternatives back and forth between the two chambers. This risks more stalemate but also could provide a path for a final resolution of the issue before lawmakers go home for their spring recess next Friday. ...

However, with the immunity issue still unresolved, no one expects the House proposal to be the final word. One possibility is that the Senate could give its blessing to the first title and then insist on concessions in the second. That could set up a situation making it easier for the House to claim a partial victory and allow final passage.

Liberal and more mainstream factions in Congress have been sparring over this legislation while America has been less safe for the last 20 days.  Congress needs to act responsibly and not take another vacation without fulfulling their responsibility to protect the American people.