By Andrew J. Hawkins and Chris Bragg

Now the fight is over whether he should resign and whether people are irresponsible for even suggesting it.

There is only so much that can be done to quell the talk of revolt from within, sighed state Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs.

“Well, we’re Democrats,” he said. “We’re not Republicans.”

But as the resignation calls keep up, State Sen. Carl Kruger hinted about a possible impeachment if revelations continue to pour out concerning the governor’s involvement in his top aide’s domestic violence case.

“I still have confidence in him as a human being,” said the Senate Finance chair. “But if his actions become too bizarre, there are other Constitutional avenues the Legislature can explore.”

Asked whether he was referring to forcefully removing the governor from office, Kruger repeated himself, adding, “You can take out the Constitution and read it yourself.”

Kruger’s assessment came as lawmakers from around the state continue to try and process what the governor’s decision to end his campaign will mean for the state’s flailing budget situation and for the governor’s legislative priorities going forward.

Some have called for Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch to take the lead in the budget negotiations, while others have called on Paterson to use this opportunity to focus solely on closing the state’s multi-billion dollar budget gap. Several agree that, at the very least, the state’s budget, which by law is supposed to be completed by March 31, will be late.  

“I am concerned about the timeliness of the budget, because we have a short month and we have a lot of hard decisions to be made,” said Assembly Member Denny Farrell, chair of the Ways and Means Committee.

He added, “I am always confident that we can have an on-time budget. And the last 30 years, I’ve been wrong 20 times.”

Kruger made clear that he would continue to work with Paterson as long as he remained the state’s “constitutional governor,” but poured cold water over the notion that Ravitch should replace Paterson at the negotiating table. If the governor is unable to serve in that capacity, Kruger said, then there is no reason for him to continue to earn a paycheck at the taxpayer’s expense.

“We’re not going to negotiate with Ravitch, and then Ravitch negotiates with Paterson, and then we go around in the three-ring circus,” Kruger said. “This is not Monty Hall, ‘Let’s Make a Deal.’”

Other lawmakers said that with a power vacuum in the executive office, the Legislature has a duty to take the reins.

“All eyes are on the rest of us,” said Assembly Member Sam Hoyt. “Are we capable of governing in a time of crisis? I’d like to think we are. We have in the past, with Eliot Spitzer’s problems. And we damn well better step up and fill the void.”

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“We’re not going to negotiate with Ravitch, and then Ravitch negotiates with Paterson, and then we go around in the three-ring circus,” State Sen. Carl Kruger said. “This is not Monty Hall, ‘Let’s Make a Deal.’”

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But with many questioning the viability of Paterson’s top priorities, including a spending freeze, higher education reform, mandate relief and spending cuts, several legislators say they are unsure where to go from here.

Hoyt, a supporter of Paterson’s efforts to lift the state’s cap on the number of charter schools, said he is concerned that the governor’s decision not to run will mean many of his legislative priorities will be left off the table. Unlike Paterson, Ravitch is not a backer of charter schools, Hoyt said he recently learned after having a private conversation with the lieutenant governor.

So the Buffalo Assemblyman says he hopes he can still negotiate with the man who, for now, is still at the top.

“As long as he remains governor,” Hoyt added, “he has a one-third say and veto power over anything that gets done.”

Others were more optimistic about Paterson’s ability to push for his priorities.

Barbara Bartoletti, legislative director for the League of Women Voters, said she believes Paterson vetoed the ethics reform legislation in January in an effort to drive up his sagging poll numbers. Without the pressures of election, the governor may be free to compromise with the Legislature on the bill, she said.

“I hope he goes back to being the guy he was in the Senate,” Bartoletti said, citing his reputation as a consensus builder as Senate minority leader. “Passing an ethics bill would help him have a legacy beyond being an unelected governor.”

Paterson also has proposed a four-year moratorium on unfunded mandates, which many say have crippled local governments across the state and have led to higher property taxes.

Yet some advocates remain assured that taxpayer revolts that unseated Democratic county executives in Westchester and Nassau counties last year are weighing heavily on the minds of the Democratic leadership in an election year.

“Many of these bills will become law—and history will judge this governor on some of the things he did in a very favorable way,” said Stephen Acquario, head of the bipartisan New York State Association of Counties.

Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, meanwhile, was less optimistic about the chances of passing Paterson’s proposed spending cap. Even before Paterson ended his campaign, Kolb said, there was no way the Senate or Assembly Democrats would have gone along with the proposal.

As for what lies ahead, Kolb said he would push hard for a budget to be finished by March 26, ahead of the deadline and the Passover/Easter break—but that the problems caused by the continuing investigation into Paterson’s affairs may make that impossible.

“If that gets the legislators distracted, we’re going to have real problems,” Kolb said. “I don’t care whether or not he’s running for re-election.”