ALBANY  Why can’t New York’s feuding senators act like grown-ups?

Nearly a month into the Senate’s bitter leadership struggle, there are few signs that the Republican and Democratic voting blocs, deadlocked in a 31-to-31 tie, are close to a deal to get back to work.

To outsiders, it is hard to imagine why the Senate cannot come together in the face of rising public criticism, withering news coverage and a schedule that has Gov. David A. Paterson forcing them to spend summer weekends in the capital.

But inside the Capitol, interviews with lawmakers on both sides reveal deeper reasons for the standoff, and the stubbornness that has accompanied it. Senate Republicans know the state’s voters, demographically speaking, are moving away from them. The electorate is growing more diverse in New York City and its suburbs, a trend that is likely to favor the Democrats, while the upstate region, a Republican base, has suffered a population drain. At the same time, the Republican caucus is all white and almost entirely male, with half its members 62 or older.

Republicans privately acknowledge that they face an uphill battle in regaining control of the Senate in the election next year. They are claiming that they should lead the Senate for the next year and a half. But they are also trying to take steps now  during what may turn out to be a fleeting moment of power  to undo the worst of what life in the minority party means in Albany.