In honor of her day off, Mandasaurus brings Friday Chick Blogging to a - eeeek! - Monday. It's sure to cure your case of the Mondays or bring brightness to your celebration of Columbus and the woe he brought to America in 1492.

I'm open to just about anything. I give peace a chance. I try new and different foods. I read Parade Magazine on Sundays alongside the Washington Post Magazine (this proves openness, somehow).

But in the wide, wacky world of dating, I've drawn the line. Every dating person has a list: deal breakers. I won't date Republicans. And actually, I don't date people with strict loyalty to silly parties like the Green Party, Libertarians and the others. I also don't date people who spoil things for others by revealing information like who dies in the Harry Potter books.

This is not harsh. It's essential. My experience has taught me the wisdom of deal breakers.

Here's a secret. In college I had a Republican Crush. My R.C. seemed fun, had goofy hair, and let me visit an election returns party for his Republican club as a reporter. Months later I met the R.C. again at a bar. My friend's friend was dating his friend. So, the Republican and I chatted, flirted, drank cocktails and smooched. Whoa, I thought, I could date this cool Republican*.

Weeks later the R.C. (widely known henceforth by a much meaner nickname) lied to his friends about me! He told his friends terrible lies about me. He attacked my character. He told people I really liked him, which obviously was impossible. I don't like liars who besmirch me.

In short, the R.C. acted like a Republican. He told lies and made a smart, sassy, awesome woman appear to be a foolish, slutty idiot. Of course my friends didn't believe the Republican's nonsense, and I couldn't really blame him. It's like blaming a snake for biting. That's what snakes do, silly mouse.

Years later, I dated a sweet engineer who brought me flowers and drank Bass Ale. We got along like peas and carrots (he cooked me lasagna!) until the U.S. invaded Iraq. Quickly, I ended things. And then he called.

"Did you break up with me because I'm a Republican?" he asked, as the start of my first and only breakup debriefing.

"Oh, well, hmmmm. Yes," I replied, eventually.

I also refused to continue dating a Libertarian who asked me out on a bus and admitted he was balding over beers. And Bostonian claimed he "thought things over and now changed" into a Democrat. That won him my phone number, but no smooching.

Whenever I hear Republicans lie, I can't help but think back to my crush. It's wrong and it's hurting America, but I can't expect a tiger to change his stripes, not in dating at least.

But here's the lesson. We Americans can expect congressmen, appointed officials and public servants to change their stripes. It's their job. Lying isn't cool. It's not cool to lie about a hot chick. And it's really not cool to lie about whether you know about a congressman flirting with underage pages.

What I'm saying is that honesty is the best policy.

And while we're being honest, as bad as Republicans are at telling the truth -- they're really bad kissers.

* That's a trick! And it's a sign I wasn't thinking logically. Republicans aren't cool.