We need to stop this epidemic of Democrat-on-Democrat (rhetorical) violence...

The war of words between the governor and some legislative leaders grew decidedly more forceful yesterday. Deval Patrick exhorted lawmakers to remain in session to address unresolved reforms and budget shortfalls, though as he spoke, most members were already gone for the remainder of 2009.

Amid the back-and-forth, Patrick implied that the Legislature was shirking its responsibility, and House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo accused Patrick of political posturing. DeLeo apparently failed to return a phone call from the governor, a rare breach of political etiquette, especially between two key officials of the same party who had been trying to nurture a working relationship.

“It’s more than a little frustrating that they would leave for whatever it is, six or seven weeks, with so much of the Commonwealth’s vital business undone,’’ Patrick said during a rare, unscheduled visit to the State House press room.

“It’s my hope that the members will realize that their rules are of their own making, that they have it in their own power to work a couple of more days, or frankly, as long as it takes to get this work done.’’

Yesterday, about 10 senators approved a deficit reduction bill passed by the House of Representatives late Wednesday night. The bill makes few actual budget cuts, but primarily transfers funds from one account to another to net about $95 million toward closing the budget gap. These moves, combined with reductions already made by the governor, will eliminate about $480 million of the state’s projected $600 million budget deficit for this year, lawmakers said.

“This should have been done weeks before,’’ said the Senate’s Republican leader, Richard R. Tisei. “We’ve been in session all year and haven’t taken the steps that were needed to confront the fiscal crisis. For people to hear we broke for the year with all these problems - it’s embarrassing.’’

Exchanges escalated through the day, with DeLeo issuing a sharp rebuttal to Patrick, who had chided the House for failing to act on an education bill, passed by the Senate earlier in the week, that would have raised the number of possible charter schools.

“Governor Patrick’s comments seem to be more about political necessity than ‘moral obligation,’ ’’ DeLeo spokesman Seth Gitell said in an e-mailed statement. “Speaker DeLeo’s obligation is to the Commonwealth’s schoolchildren, not Governor Patrick’s political calendar.’’

DAMN!

UPDATE: More from the Globe and the Herald.

SECOND UPDATE: From Howie Carr, the Globe and Herald.