Governor McCrory is in hot water, and his spokesman sounds like a teapot on a hot stove.

Democratic Rep. Larry Hall said of Prison-Gate, “It’s obvious they went to great lengths to ensure this contractor had special access and opportunity. There’s a pay-to-play, quid pro quo way of doing business that’s happening right now.”

Josh Ellis, McCrory’s communications director, shot back, “The smear campaign and lies by the left-wing Democrats continue in order to deflect attention away from an improving economy along with a government that’s more efficient. Rep. Hall’s comments are ones of desperation and destructive politics in order to regain power to implement past failed policies. It’s obvious his goal is to seek misleading stories and false headlines in an effort to fool the people of North Carolina.”

That’s overreacting to the point of hysteria. Whoever wrote it had too much coffee. Or maybe a tongue-lashing from a notoriously thin-skinned Governor.

Regardless, Democrats don’t need to overreach on this one. When your opponent is shooting himself in the foot, don’t get in the line of fire. The prison deal is now the subject of an FBI investigation. The media is all over it. It will go on for a while. Let the story tell itself.

Let the Governor’s flacks flog “left-wing Democrats” and “the left-wing media.” McCrory’s very real problems now are the FBI, his own political appointees and Republicans in the legislature. The FBI is investigating. His appointees are pointing fingers and covering their behinds. And GOP legislators are none too happy at being dragged into this.

Like Phil Berger. He gets a call from Graeme Keith and – presto! – a special provision disappears from the budget. Berger says he wouldn’t have done it if he’d known the FBI was investigating. In other words, he had no problem doing it, he just didn’t know the FBI was on the case.

Then there’s the Dollar mystery, the dog that hasn’t barked – yet. Rep. Nelson Dollar was chief author of a budget that had the provision Keith didn’t like and got Berger to take out. But nobody seems to recall who wrote the provision or why. And Dollar’s wife was working in the prison system at the time, but then lost her job.  Discuss among yourselves.

And then there are McCrory’s other appointees in the department. They obviously smelled trouble from the beginning and went to great lengths to document their concerns about Keith, his prison deal, the special meeting the Governor called and the eventual decision by the Governor’s Office to override their concerns.

In other words, the water is getting hot in Raleigh. And when the water gets hot, teapots sing.