GOP Dilemma: The Party of Lies or the Party of Crazy? (updated)

This is what its come down to - is the GOP the party of lies or the party of crazy? One place that is being manifested is in the battle for the presidential nomination between these two men.

Some talk about Romney being a "flip-flopper," but I prefer lies because we all know by now that he'll say anything to get elected. And I remember what happened when people believed George W. Bush when he said he'd be a "compassionate conservative" and wasn't in to "nation-building." We all know how that one turned out.

The pundits seem to think that Romney got the better of Perry last night, but will their primary voters agree? You see, there's that whole alpha male thing going on that should never be underestimated.

We're also seeing the dilemma in Congress. Speaker Boehner initially couldn't get a continuing resolution passed to fund the government because - according to the crazies in his party - it didn't cut ENOUGH money (ie, jobs) from the bargain that was agreed to during the debt ceiling negotiations. In that case, the Speaker has shown where his loyalties are...its with the crazies. And so unless something happens between now and Friday, the federal government will shut down in a week.

In the end, I don't pretend to know whether the GOP will pick lies or crazy. But it sure would be nice if - for the country's sake - there was a third option on the table.

I just know that I'm sticking with the guy who has demonstrated over and over again that he's the only adult in the room.



UPDATE: Oh my. You know the Republicans are in trouble when none other than Bill Kristol agrees with me about the debate last night.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD’s official reaction to last night’s Republican presidential debate: Yikes.

Reading the reactions of thoughtful commentators after the stage emptied, talking with conservative policy types and GOP political operatives later last evening and this morning, we know we’re not alone. Most won’t express publicly just how horrified—or at least how demoralized—they are...

The e-mails flooding into our inbox during the evening were less guarded. Early on, we received this missive from a bright young conservative: “I'm watching my first GOP debate...and WE SOUND LIKE CRAZY PEOPLE!!!!”