We've said it before and we'll say it again: Mark Kirk's U.S. Senate campaign is starting to feel a whole lot like John McCain's 2008 presidential bid. 

As was the case with McCain, Kirk has long benefited from media coverage that exaggerated his "moderate" and "independent" credentials, while glossing over his recurring hypocrisy and largely conservative record.  But now he is running for higher office and overtly embracing more right-wing positions.  As a result, that sheen is starting to wear off.

This week, Kirk is trying to reestablish his "independent" bonafides by speaking out, once again, against congressional earmarks.  In an email to supporters today, he noted that "Congress approved 10,000 earmarks worth $19.6 billion" last year and went on to list the "11 worst spending projects of the 111th Congress."  Check out the accompanying video:

McCain also loved to harp on the earmark issue during his unsuccessful presidential campaign.  (Let's not forget this constant refrain: "I will make them famous. And you will know their names. You will know their names.") 

But McCain's anti-pork crusade always seemed way out of proportion with the problem itself.  Same goes for Kirk's suggestion that these projects are a significant contributor to our massive national debt. In fact, earmarks made up less than 1 percent of federal spending in 2008.  Economist Mark Thoma's chart illustrates that point nicely:

As Foreign Policy's Blake Hounshell wrote last year in response to McCain's demagoguing: "This is a fake issue, folks." 

Of course, there is plenty of room to improve the earmark process (more transparency and oversight is certainly needed).  But banning them across the board is silly and, as David Sirota has repeatedly pointed out, would only consolidate more power in the executive branch.

Finally, it's worth remembering that Kirk was doing a fair amount of earmarking himself not too long ago, as the AP documents today.  The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had this response:

“Congressman Kirk wants to have it both ways on every issue, but his hypocritical attempt to disavow earmarks for political gain is clear,” said Kathleen Strand, Senior Advisor to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.  “While he now claims to be against earmarks on the campaign trail, Congressman Kirk has a long history of rewarding his campaign contributors with millions of dollars in earmarks.”