The first human colonisation of a another planet or a one way suicide mission, neither makes sense

I'm not sure how this debate is going to get us to Mars sooner, what seems to be overlooked is the cost of sustaining life for an indefinite period on the Martian surface as opposed to conducting short sorties and bringing the crew back.

If the other one way plan is to maroon the crew on the Martian surface without the technology and resources to survive it will never get funded due to public and political outcry. 

So why muddy the Martian waters with proposed missions which are likely to take longer on a larger budget or never get approved politically? 

We already have a perfectly good plan to get us to Mars in the Constellation program, it just needs the funding that was promised to it, to make it happen.