Republicans scored a legal – and political – victory when they challenged a Democratic trick last year to call a less-than-emergency, emergency session of the Legislature.

Democrats, needing to pass a budget without two-thirds support and significant Republican support, adjourned the Legislature after passing the financial framework. By law, legislators were entitled to paychecks for the “extra” session. Democrats argued they weren’t, and changed the law going forward.

Republicans were right. Lawmakers called into a special session were eligible for pay. They took Democrats to court and won. Democrats suffered an embarrassing reversal.

Leave it to politicians, however, to turn a political win into a loss.

Being legally entitled to the extra pay doesn’t mean they actually should take it. The special session was special in name only. Lawmakers were not required to “return” to Augusta; they were already there as they had been scheduled to be.

Now, a majority of legislators – Democrats and Republicans alike – have said they will keep the extra money, which could cost the state more than $500,000.

Several Republicans say they want to teach Democrats a lesson, and that they will donate the money to causes they support. It’s a shallow argument – even if the money goes to a good cause – that amounts to giving lawmakers a personal earmark to use as they please at the expense of the state treasury. Winning wasn’t enough. They want the money, too.

At a time when the state faces serious financial troubles, this type of lesson-teaching puts partisan interests ahead of the good of the state and looks awful.

As bad as the Republican behavior is, it’s even worse that some Democrats are also keeping the money. They used a parliamentary maneuver to pass a majority budget and got burned. Instead of recognizing the mistake and acting contrite, many of them are cashing in.

The Republicans look mean-spirited. The Democrats look greedy. And the entire Legislature suffers a diminished image.

Not all lawmakers are acting irresponsibly. Locally, Sens. Bruce Bryant, Peggy Rotundo and former Sens. Richard Bennett and Neria Douglass have said they won’t cash in, as have Reps. Margaret Craven, Elaine Makas, Janet Mills, Stanley Moody, Deborah Pelletier-Simpson and former Rep. Paul Lessard.

The rest will be taking between $3,200 and $4,200.

In the game of Monopoly, it’s OK to take money from an error in your favor. In real life, it’s not.

Lawmakers haven’t earned this money. They don’t deserve it, and they should not take it.