I suspect this (corporate "free trade") is one of the "non negotiable issues" (like open borders and global warming) that are near and dear to the hearts of the members of the Ruling Party. In other words, whoever ends up being the nominee of the R branch WILL TOE THE PARTY LINE when it comes to TPP. (Just as he or she will toe the line on open borders and global warming).

Now nothing is perfect - no one has a crystal ball ability to see what the future holds. So the Ruling Party - although it is very powerful indeed - is not omnipotent (not yet, anyway). The Rulers did not foresee Trump (and to a lesser extent, Dr. Carson). They fully expected to be able to buy Jeb! the nomination - and then have him lose to Hilliary. (Even if somehow Jeb! would have been able to win the election, any Jeb! administration would be just as favorable to the Ruling Party as a Hilliary one).

I've said all along the Trump won't be the nominee - just for the reasons I've listed above (in the RPs eyes, he's wrong on those issues and he can't be bought). He (or his family) would have to be physically threatened - JFK'd if you will

So that leaves Dr. Carson. I still believe he is a man of honor and integrity. I like him - I liked him the first time I was aware of him (at the prayer breakfast a couple years ago where he made the boy emperor look like the lightweight intellectual that he is).

The Ruling Party does not want Dr. Carson, either. To the RP, he's just about as objectionable as Trump. Just about, but not quite. Perhaps they could convince him that TPP is a good thing. Perhaps that's not a big issue to him.

I hate to do it, but I'll end this on a negative note: I honestly believe that it is impossible for a man or woman of honor to accept the R or D nomination for POTUS. In other words, if Dr. Carson (against all odds) becomes the R nominee, it will mean he has compromised and IS NOT a man of honor.

"So that leaves Dr. Carson. I still believe he is a man of honor and integrity."

I make no judgement on this story since we are in the election smear season but it's out there.

Zitat

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AP Exclusive: Carson profits from ties with convicted felon

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential contender Ben Carson has maintained a business relationship with a close friend convicted of defrauding insurance companies and testified on his behalf, even as the candidate has called for such crimes to be punished harshly.

Pittsburgh dentist Alfonso A. Costa pleaded guilty to a felony count of health care fraud after an FBI probe into his oral surgery practice found he had charged for procedures he never performed, according to court records.

Though the crime carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison, Costa was able to avoid prison time after Carson helped petition a federal judge for leniency.

That's different from the position Carson took in 2013 as he prepared to launch his presidential campaign, saying those convicted of health care fraud should go to prison for at least a decade and be forced to forfeit "all of one's personal possessions."

At Costa's 2008 sentencing hearing, Carson described the dentist as "one my closest, if not my very closest friend."

"We became friends about a decade ago because we discovered that we were so much alike and shared the same values and principles that govern our lives," Carson told the judge, adding that their families vacationed together and that they were involved in "joint projects."

"Next to my wife of 32 years, there is no one on this planet that I trust more than Al Costa," Carson said.

Costa has served on the board of Carson's charity, the Carson Scholars Fund, and continues to lead the charity's fundraising efforts in the Pittsburgh area to provide $1,000 college scholarships to children in need.

Before his criminal conviction and the revocation of his license to practice dentistry, Costa built a multimillion-dollar fortune through commercial real estate. Investments Carson and his wife made through Costa earn the couple between $200,000 and $2 million a year, according to financial records that Carson was required to file when he declared his candidacy.

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http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/a...ocid=spartandhp

I would also like to point out that in addition to supporting the TPP Carson is on record of favoring statehood for Puerto Rico.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/08/politics/b...hood/index.html

He seems like a nice guy, clean and articulate, but he's definitely not perfect. But then who is? Other than me, I mean.

Zitat

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To your point Rufus, this is what Herman Cain said after Romney's loss in 2012.

HERMAN CAIN CALLS FOR THE CREATION OF NEW THIRD PARTY

Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is calling for the creation of a third political party — saying it is clear to him that neither major political party is willing to address the nation’s economic problems.

“We need a third party to save this country,” Cain told American Family Radio host Bryan Fischer. “This country is in trouble and it is clear that neither party — is going to fix the problems we face.”

Cain agreed with Fischer’s assessment that conservatives are growing tired of being ignored by Republican party leadership — and that many believe the GOP no longer speaks for them.

Cain said it was troubling that Mitt Romney received fewer votes than John McCain did in 2008 — suggesting that many conservatives did not vote on Tuesday.

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With respect to Herman Cain, I don't see a third party happening. The Ruling Party does not like competition. And as you pointed out, the last time we had a strong 3rd party (Perot in '92) it ended badly - i.e. the election of Xlinton. Just as an aside, I'm thinking Perot (the eccentric billionaire) also threw a monkey wrench into the RPs plans in that election cycle - much as Trump is doing now. I think Bush was the intended - and Xlinton (the gov of the backwater state of Ark.) was just the sacrificial lamb. But the elites took care of Perot (remember his claim that the Bush's were wrecking his daughter's wedding) and Xlinton proved to be very malleable in the RPs hand, so it all worked out (for them).

Zitat

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He [Carson] seems like a nice guy, clean and articulate, but he's definitely not perfect.

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He definitely has some problematic views.