BOSTON -- A leading lawmaker coming out publicly called Gov. Deval Patrick "irrelevant" as he stands his ground on the state's sales tax.

NewsCenter 5's Pam Cross Senate President Therese Murray made the comments on a radio broadcast Wednesday night.

"Unfortunately, he is kind of making himself irrelevant at this point in the game, which is too bad because we really need him. We haven't had a Democratic governor in 16 years, and this makes no sense to me. We need to work together," she said.

"There is some frustration. It is very easy to talk about change. It is difficult to make change real," Sen. Ben Downing said.

"I don't really take the governor seriously. I think the Senate president is right. He is becoming more and more irrelevant to the process," Sen. Richard Tisei said.

After swearing in a new judge, the governor said he is not taking it personally.

"Let’s do what I think is the easy stuff and deliver some real and lasting reform," Patrick said. "I've been very clear with the members and with the public and frankly, that is what has generated some of the comments that you talk about."

"The governor has to work with us. We are facing a huge economic crisis, and it doesn’t help to turn up the heat. We have to work together," Murray said.