Back in January, senate Republicans called Hiram Monserrate a "ticking time bomb" who shouldn't be allowed to contaminate the august state senate chambers.

Now, questions about that old girlfriend stabbing incident are just "nit picking" about their new pal Hiram.

That's the latest harvest in the bumper crop of hypocrisy in Albany as the Great State Senate Debacle races ahead. This morning, on talk show host Brian Lehrer's WNYC show, two tribal chieftains in the battle, state senators Martin Golden (pictured), Republican from Brooklyn, and Bill Perkins, a Harlem Dem, discussed the coup and who loves Monserrate least.

Golden: "This is not a power grab. This is about doing the people's business...People of the state of New York are fed up. People across the country are fed up."

Lehrer tried a couple times to get Golden to talk about the obvious deceit on the Republican's part in basing their new majority on the votes of an indicted legislator (Monserrate), and an ethically challenged one who tried to funnel $2 million to nonprofits controlled by cronies (Pedro Espada Jr.). Perkins couldn't restrain himself.

Perkins: "It's more than just hypocrisy. Senator Golden led the charge to have Hiram Monserrate barred from the senate after his arrest. One day he's calling for him to be excluded, and another day he embraces him with the crown of leadership."

Golden, an ex-cop, ducked the punch. "They can go to any court in the country, it's still a majority anyway you count it."

Lehrer: "Yeah, but do you want to answer my question about the hypocrisy..."

Golden: "I still think what he (Monserrate) did was appalling." If convicted, then Hiram goes to jail and loses his seat, Golden acknowledged. But in the meantime, he suggested, it's welcome aboard. "You guys can nit pick back and forth all you want about this," he said.

For the record, back in January as the session was starting, Golden had some pretty good lines about Monserrate and his claims that the stabbing was just an accident. "He's a ticking time bomb and he'll go off eventually," said Golden as he circulated a petition to keep the newly elected Queens senator from being seated. "He's got a rage in him that's pretty crazy."