We know Rep. Mark Kirk wants to drill off of American shores. He wants to drill so badly he'll even fearmonger about the Chinese sucking up all the oil in the Gulf of Mexico (until he's called out on it and forced to admit his claims were untrue).

But believe it or not, Mark Kirk was once considered an environmental steward! Remember those days? Can you say flip-flop? Ellen of the Tenth can:

Not only did he intentionally spread the [China drilling] lie as the good folks at Progress Illinois pointed out, but he changed his 2006 position when he voted for the Markey Amendment H.AMDT.1176 to the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act of 2006 that sought to maintain the 25-year moratorium on oil and gas drilling in environmentally sensitive areas offshore, including off Florida. It seems Kirk changed his mind when his party decided to use high gas prices as a sales strategy for offshore drilling leases wanted by the industry now that prices are high.

Kirk also showed his lack of commitment to moving away from the 2001 Cheney energy plan even ever so slightly when in 2007 he voted against H.R. 6 Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation Act (the bill that increased CAFE standards) three times (one, two, and three) before he voted for it. If republicans were in control of the House, it appears that Kirk would have voted against the bill.

Sure, times have changed. Oil prices are considerably higher than they were just two years ago. But Kirk's decision to toe the party line on offshore drilling -- even repeating their misleading talking points -- is a bit at odds with his image as a "thoughtful independent."

And flip-flopping aside, did we mention that the drilling he wishes to pursue won't appreciably lower fuel costs? There's that too.