Now HB2 has gone too far. It’s interfering with our state religion: NCAA basketball. It’s one thing to lose the NBA All-Star Game or PayPal. But March Madness?

And Potty Pat McCrory wonders why we’re still talking about this. Maybe because he keeps talking about it.

He’s lurching. Defending HB2 one day, dropping it the next. It looks like he’s his own campaign consultant. Clearly there is no strategic brain, no Carter Wrenn or Paul Shumaker, in McCrory’s campaign.

And Republicans can’t help digging deeper. GOP spokeswoman Kami Mueller defended HB2 by invoking “the women who were raped at Baylor.”

Let’s pause here to note that the Baylor incident was overseen by that famous Republican morality policeman Kenneth Starr.

Meanwhile, McCrory is scrambling for somebody to blame. First he blamed Charlotte’s mayor and city council. Then he blamed “the liberal-left-politically-correct crowd.” Last week, he blamed both Roy Cooper and the N.C. Chamber of Commerce. A twofer.

He didn’t blame the two men he should blame: Phil Berger and Tim Moore.

Moore blamed it all on “the messaging.” Ah, the last refuge of a political scoundrel. Shoot the messaging!

Or McCrory could just blame himself. He had smart people telling him not to sign HB2, but he didn’t listen.

Now, HB2 has strangled his “Carolina Comeback.” If he doesn’t solve his HB2 problem, he’ll lose. But he keeps making it worse, not better.

HB2 is why he’s losing the voters around Raleigh and Charlotte who elected him four years ago. He made his stand on the wrong side of a stark moral, social and cultural divide.

Meanwhile, Roy Cooper is sitting back with more money than McCrory and a few bombs yet to drop: (1) ex-Duke executive McCrory wants ratepayers to pay for the coal ash cleanup; (2) McCrory supports fracking, which may cause earthquakes; and (3) remember the Quicken Loans sweetheart deal?

There’s still almost eight weeks to go. But this race is going bad for HB2 and McCrory.