Talk about hypocrisy

The News & Observer, Raleigh (N.C.): Wise mamas everywhere counsel their kids that two wrongs don’t make a right. But Paul “Skip” Stam, the Apex attorney who serves as majority leader in the state House, must need a refresher course. When defending an egregious bit of legislative finagling, Stam fell back on the excuse that, well, the Democrats who used to run the House were known to do the same thing.

Some of Stam’s fellow Republicans want to gut a law that gives convicted murderers more leverage in claiming unfair treatment because of racial bias. They see the law as a way to stymie capital punishment. They plugged the necessary language into an unrelated bill .

Critics of the Racial Justice Act ... can make their case. But Stam — who often drew blood with his blasts at Democratic abuses — should see the problem in giving cover to his allies’ underhanded maneuver by citing Democratic precedent. It’s called hypocrisy.