It's been an interesting weekend for Ben Carson. Friday morning, Politico broke a story that Carson had supposedly lied about applying and being accepted to West Point. Many people thought his campaign was dead then and there. But by the afternoon, the conservative pushback had begun and Carson's supporters were able to partially rebut the sloppy reporting. Carson turned defeat into a victory, raising $3.5 million in a week, most likely because his supporters were so infuriated at the attacks of the Main Stream Media [Carson Raises $3.5 million this week amidst media scrutiny, by Jonah Bennett, Daily Caller, November 7, 2015]

And it was unfair. It's absurd how eager the MSM is to pick apart Carson's past after years of shilling for Obama. Conservatives are right to point out the double standards.

But what is Carson's real agenda? After all, $3.5 million buys a lot of steak dinners, which is the most likely fate for where the money will end up considering Carson's record of blowing through donors' money for personal luxuries. But the real betrayal came when Carson announced two new policies which should have the effect of devastating Carson's Middle American supporters.

As Carson was playing the victim on Friday, he also announced he supported the catastrophic Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said Friday that he supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement negotiated by the White House – aligning himself more with the GOP’s establishment wing than with the social conservatives who have powered his campaign.

Mr. Carson’s backing of the 12-nation Pacific trade deal places him at odds with Donald Trump, his chief rival for support among anti-establishment Republicans. Mr. Carson had expressed skepticism about the TPP, saying in a June interview with the Huffington Postthat he would not give President Barack Obama “fast-track” authority to negotiate the deal.

[Ben Carson Backs White House's TPP Trade Deal, by Reid Epstein, Wall Street Journal, November 6, 2015]

This is an almost comical example of the Beltway Right in action. Carson is winning support because he is perceived as a Christian victimized by an unfair media. But the trade deal he supports will enable more mass immigration and economically devastate his supporters.

That's not all. Carson then went to Puerto Rico and decided to go The Full Jeb by supporting Puerto Rican statehood.

"In a Carson administration, I will leave no stone unturned in my efforts to secure this important step in Puerto Rico's history — establishing Estado 51," said the retired neurosurgeon, highlighting the strategic benefits of the Caribbean island's location relative to the United States mainland.

[Carson Backs Puerto Rico statehood, by Deena Zaru and Elizabeth Landers, CNN, November 8, 2015].

Leave aside that this grants the Democratic Party more congressmen and two more Senators in perpetuity. Statehood would saddle the United States with a territory which has almost nothing to offer besides an incompetent workforce of permanent dependents and a crushing debt. Any attempt to "cut spending" would be dead on arrival permanently.

The good news? This idiotic stance will hopefully hurt Carson's showing in Iowa, which is a must win for him. We've had our fun, but this Long Con on decent Americans is really starting to wear thin.