"It seems to me that there's a question of conscience that's bothering him, and that's whether all of the taxes and fees that he's supported not just in last year's budget, but also when he was a senator in the minority," Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos said in a press conference after his formal response to Paterson's State of the State speech aired on TV. "I hope that this has been a conversion."

Skelos was joined by Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb as well as Ed Cox, chairman of the Republican State Committee.

"What he delivered with respect to the budget was a Republican message," Cox said.

During the speech, I noticed more Republicans applauding than Democrats, and doing so with greater frequency. Paterson gave a very prominent shout-out to Governor George Pataki, the last Republican to hold that office. Glenn Blain noticed this too, and asked Skelos if he thought Democrats were disrespectful to the governor by not clapping.

"Whether you agree with the governor or not, he is the governor and you should respect that," Skelos replied. "I think the governor has, as obviously the Democrat Party especially in the senate, are particularly troubled as to his polling numbers and what President Obama tried to do, in terms of really bullying him out."

"They didn't quite cross the line in terms of disrespect, but he was talking more like a Republican, so I can understand," Skelos said.

I asked Cox if he would entertain Paterson for the Republican nomination. He and everyone else laughed, before he noted there are "other great candidates."

"We did something no one thought we could do. We successfully reformed state institutions where there was a lot going on. If you use hospitals, the roads, or the subways in this state, you are deeply involved in the daily operation of authorities," Brodsky told me last week, referring to his work in crafting and (finally) passing a bill strengthening oversight of public authorities like the M.T.A. "What I'm going to do is try to use that model, and turn it into a conversation about institutional change in Albany."

The "model," as Brodsky sees it, is this: treat everybody "civilly," be patient and make a direct connection to what people can see.

"If you're going to succeed in these reform efforts, you have got to be able to talk about issues that matter in the daily lives of average people," Brodsky, a Westchester Democrat, said. "If we're going to discuss the extraordinary burden of property taxes, there has to be a civic conversation about it. The same is true for the right to privacy. The same is true of health care questions, which is going to become front and center."

Brodsky carries a bill authorizing a convention (which will be put before voters in a referendum in 2017). Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb has seized on this issue--he has held town hall meetings and is doing lots of interviews, including one today on The Capitol Pressroom--and has a bill that would move up the referendum to 2010, and include a provision mandating legislators decide whether they want to be a delegate to the convention or keep their day job

"Fundamentally, it was really designed to really bring change to Albany that couldn't really be construed are seen as partisan politics," Kolb told me in a recent interview. "Certainly throwing all the incumbents out is not going to happen. Basically what I'm looking for is finally to break through the noise and bring up those questions or topics about whether we're going to amend the constitution in the very issues where we'd like to see change."

Both men clearly see political mileage her. Kolb has a small conference (40 members in a chamber of 150) and is hoping to move this issue down the road. Brodsky is mulling a run for attorney general, and would do so on the platform of government reform.

"Is he? Oh, I thought he was running for Congress," Assemblyman Ron Canestrari, a Cohoes Democrat, said, referencing an already-begun race against Representative John Hall that included robocalls and town halls on health care. "As long as he's out of here I don't care."

"Greg Ball's running for State Senate. Ummm, what would you like to know?" Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb told reporters before a leaders meeting the other night. "I would just say I wish him the best of luck for whatever endeavor he wants to pursue. I thought he was running for Congress, but now I guess he's running for the Senate."

I asked Kolb, again, if he was saddened by the prospect of losing Ball as a member of the Republican conference.

"I just wish everybody good luck in whatever endeavor they decide endeavor on," Kolb replied.

Ball is a colorful character. Earlier this year he filed a police report when a dead goat was found near his driveway; Ball claimed intimidation by the "old political machine" and later said he was sleeping with a gun under his bed.

But with his color comes an almost fanatic diligence. "No matter what he runs for he's going to be formidable, because he's bright, he's intelligent, he's a good communicator and he's a hard worker," Assemblyman Jim Tedisco, a Schenectady Republican who unsuccessfully ran for Congress earlier this year.

Ball's exit from the Congressional race comes after Nan Hayworth, a physician, declared her candidacy in September. In October, Democrats filed suit against Ball for violating FEC regulations, and earlier this month Ball's campaign touted a poll that did not sample all of the voters in the district. The eyebrow raising reached a level where officials at the National Republican Congressional Committee concluded he was not a disciplined enough candidate and urged him to drop out, according to a Republican familiar with the campaign.

Tedisco, who is mulling another run for Congress, referenced "disorganization" on the part of national Republicans.

"It seems to be, not only is the environment bad, but it seems to be there appears to be some disorganization," he said. "At the national level, in terms of getting an understanding of what's taking place specifically in some of these Congressional districts. I think they're trying to put their best effort forward, but I think they and we've all been victims of some unforeseen situations in these elections. And sometimes you can't control those things."

(UPDATE: John Randall, an NRCC spokesman, said in an e-mail that "Greg Ball is a dedicated public servant with a bright future and the NRCC respects his decision to run for State Senate.")

In a formal statement, Ball said his decision to run for State Senate was based on a desire to continue working for change in Albany.

"As an Assemblyman in the minority, I headed to Albany to fight: Fight against the backroom deals, the systemic corruption, and the infamous dysfunction that is costing New Yorkers billions and forcing small businesses out of this state," Ball said. "As a candidate for State Senate, I look forward to returning to Albany not simply to fight, but to lead."

"From the overwhelming grassroots support to our continued fundraising successes I am thrilled at the community's response to my campaign. Yet as I have gone door to door, discussing national issues with voters throughout the Hudson Valley, the conversations have always come back to kitchen table issues," Ball continued.

He has declared his candidacy for a seat current held by State Senator Vincent Leibell, who might end up running for Putnam County executive, giving Ball an opening. If that doesn't materialize, Leibell's fellow senators are ready to rally on his behalf.

"I don't know why people are walking out of here saying they're very close to a deal. I don't know why people are leaving here happy and I don't know why it is so difficult to understand that we have a fiduciary responsibility to the people of the State of New York with obligations that will be met in December, and the only way to reduce this deficit is real and recurring cuts; not phony estimates of revenues that don't exist," Paterson said. "This is a prelude to what will be continued unhappiness, because it reflects the way this entire state will be if we don't handle our finances, which are in very dire straits right now."

Paterson said he was just being "realistic," and that he will keep lawmakers in Albany as long as it takes. "We're going to have to have an arrangement made otherwise I'm going to have to sit down with the comptroller and sit down with the budget director and start talking about ways to reduce our deficit as administratively as we can, because we're going to come up short on payments in December." He declined to get specific.

Over the course of the day, Paterson softened on his overall $3.2 billion target, and legislative leaders maintained their optimism. Emerging from Tuesday evening's meeting, Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos called the meeting "positive discussions."

"Now we're engaged, we're involved, and we're going to be pushing our recommendations," he said.

"I think the discussions are serious and deliberate, and I think we're finally at that point where there's ongoing discussions between everybody," Assembly Republican Leader Brian Kolb, who today presented his own deficit plan, said. "This is the first round of real serious talks that I think I've seen in the last month.

Democratic legislative leaders--one from the Assembly, two from the Senate--said little.

"Still working. Still a work in progress," Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said.

"We're not in the process of committing government malpractice," John Sampson said. "We understand what our responsibility is--our fiscal responsibility--and we're going to get it done."

Someone asked Sampson if the Republican optimism--and inclusion--was a recognition that he would be unable to herd his conference toward voting as a bloc for any plan with the cuts to spending upon which Paterson is insistent.

"Not at all," Sampson said. "It's not about Democrat or Republican, it's about working together."

The beginning of the meeting was almost more noteworthy than the end. Sampson arrived 30 minutes late, prompting Skelos to arrive and leave, telling the gathered press that "they can't find Senator Sampson" and speculating, snarkily, that there might have been "a coup within a coup."

Nominal Senate President Malcolm Smith arrived a short while later--"I'm the Senate President," he said when I asked him where Sampson was--and an aide explained Sampson's tardiness.

"He's been being a senator; dealing with senatorial issues," Paul Rivera, the communications director, said as Sampson arrived.

"I had to go to the bathroom," he explained.

I found Doug Hoffman gawking at the chamber's ornate ceiling, indulging what he monotonically insisted is a deep passion for architecture, chatting with his wife Carol and the Rev. Jason McGuire, the lobbyist here who opposes same-sex marriage on behalf of a group called New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms. McGuire was a paid consultant to Hoffman during his recent failed congressional bid, and today served as an impromptu tour guide.

I asked Hoffman if he was going to meet with Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava while he was here. Or Jim Tedisco or Brian Kolb, for that matter. Or if he was going to lobby for same-sex marriage; his candidacy has spooked many Republicans in the State Senate who might have thought of voting for it, as McGuire delights in telling people.

"No, this really was impromptu," Hoffman said, as effusive as ever. I asked him what message his candidacy sent to Republicans, and if he would run again.

"Well, I said all along that I was fighting for the soul of the Republican Party, and I think that I accomplished that. I think that we got the message out there that if we're going to have values and ideals, that candidates should reflect those values and ideals," Hoffman replied.

Cirando will fill the seat of Ed Cox, who resigned from the commission in September when he became chairman of the Republican State Committee. Last week, the commission put out a public call for lawmakers to fill its vacant seats. Cirando's appointment by Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb was made in a letter dated Nov. 4, but not announced publicly.

The 12-member board nominates candidates for the Court of Appeals; a list it presented last December was criticized by David Paterson for a lack of diversity.

Paterson also has an outstanding appointment on the commission, but it's unclear who he might nominate or when.

Here's Cirando's official biography, per the Law Revision Commission:

John A. Cirando was appointed as a member of the Law Revision Commission in 2006. He is a partner of the law firm of D.J. and J.A. Cirando, Esqs., located in Syracuse, New York. His practice is concentrated on appellate advocacy. He served as Chief Assistant District Attorney in the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office and was a member of the United States Army, Judge Advocate General Corps. He has been active both in local and state bar associations, serving as Chairperson of both the New York State Bar Association's Committee on County Courts and the New York State Bar Association's Public Relations Committee, and as Secretary and member of the Board of Directors of the Onondaga County Bar Association. He has taught as an adjunct professor of law at Syracuse University College of Law and authored the 2004-2005 Survey of Criminal Law in New York State for the Syracuse University Law Review.

He is general counsel for Vera House, Inc., a not-for-profit that works to end domestic violence and sexual assault, and din 2005, received the Sister Mary Vera Recognition Award. He has been a member of the St. Bonaventure University Board of Trustees and is currently serving as Secretary and member of the board of Trustees of Loretto Health & Rehabilitation Center. He received his B.A. from St. Bonaventure University and his J.D. from S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo, School of Law.

"I am less and less ideological about deficit reduction. We just have to do it," Paterson said on a conference call with legislative leaders. "In other words, if the four of you agreed on something, you know, that I don't right now, I'd be persuaded to go along with it because my main thrust is doing what's right for the people of New York, which is not injure our financial position as so many states have."

The sticking points on a deficit reduction plan--there is about $3 billion worth of deficit--are Paterson's proposals to cut education and health care. Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb said he wants education cuts to be distributed equally among districts, Silver said "I'm supportive of cuts that will bring us to a balanced budget, and pass in both houses" and Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson said any cuts were unacceptable. So not much progress her, despite claims to the contrary.

Later, taking questions from reporters, Paterson clarified that "it's the deficit that's killing our state" and that he was holding firm to solve it. He was asked if he could move away from the education and health care cuts, and said "I don't see how health care and education cuts could not be part of the plan, because they're 55 percent of the budget."

But this indicates a basic capitulation by Paterson. His budget office is now evaluating a proposal by Senate Democrats to refinance the state's tobacco bonds that he has dismissed consistently, and yesterday he said he was willing to reconsider the health care cuts.

Everyone on the call agreed to have their staffs meet. They seem optimistic that a plan can be passed during a special session next week.

The beginning of the call was dominated by Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos, who played inquisitor, asking Democrats whether they agreed to painful cuts.

"What real cuts are being supported by the Speaker?" Skelos asked Silver, who then seized the floor with an intense-sounding rebuttal.

"Senator, I don't believe that the secretary of state swore you in as a district attorney or a prosecutor here that you can just begin to ask all these questions," he said, reprising a bickering match from the last public leaders meeting. "Let me just say this: You've had the telephone, or whatever it is, for the last 10 minutes, and all you do is ask questions. You have not proposed one cut: let's be clear. The $2 billion you talked about that you agreed with the governor is all about fund raids. You're willing to raid every fund in the state and be totally irresponsible."

Skelos listed some cuts, which totaled around $450 million, then shot back.

"You called me a prosecutor; you are a very good trial lawyer!"

Two vacancies now exist on the 12-member commission, chaired by former Chief Judge Judith Kaye, which is responsible for forwarding a list of names to David Paterson when vacancies arise on the Court of Appeals. The Commission's work was criticized by Paterson last December when it submitted a list of candidates to replace Kaye that included no women; Paterson felt it was not sufficiently diverse.

At the time, he had no appointees on the commission, and later named Kaye. Now, two seats are available after the resignation of Ed Cox, who became Republican State Committee chairman, and Frederick Brewington, who stepped down just before Kaye was appointed. Cox was appointed by the Assembly minority leader; Brewington was appointed by Paterson.

"The commission encourages Minority Leader Kolb and Governor Paterson to consider appointing highly qualified individuals from a variety of backgrounds," commissioners said in a statement. "Similarly, the commission encourages bar associations, civic groups and other interested parties to consider recommending highly qualified individuals to Minority Leader Kolb and Governor Paterson."

"Today, I had a thorough and frank discussion with Assemblywoman Scozzafava," Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb said in a statement. "As a result, Dede has tendered, and I accepted, her resignation as our Conference's Leader Pro Tempore. Over the coming weeks, I will be assessing who will serve as our Conference's next Leader Pro Tempore to lead our Assembly floor debates."

Kolb hinted at this a week ago.

"I spoke with the governor yesterday," Kolb said, hanging out in the LCA room before appearing on The Capitol Pressroom. "He said he wants us to come in for a joint session on Monday. I asked him about a session on Tuesday, and, well, it's a question mark."

Paterson has not formally proclaimed the session yet. Kolb said he members would attend a joint session and a session, if and when it is called.

"The question all along has been the Senate Dems," Kolb  continued. "I talked to the speaker, and he said he's ready to act but he doesn't want to do it if there's not agreement."

And there is not currently an agreement. David Paterson met this morning with Republican leaders in the State Senate, but Democrats controlling the chamber have been publicly uneager to make some of the cuts David Paterson has proposed.

"Our conference will return when there is an agreement," Austin Shafran, a spokesman for the majority conference, said.