The South Carolina debate is over, and for those of you who are following the nuance – now the endorsement game begins.

In order to understand what is currently going on, it helps to step back in time and remind yourself what the intents are behind the political curtain – The bigger ‘big picture’.

All the way back in February of ’14, the RNC rules committee decisions for the 2016 presidential race were constructed in Washington DC.  Almost every player in the 2015/2016 presidential election was either present (mostly splitters), or had a representative in attendance on their behalf.

Republican party officials, party consultants, party donor aggregators/bundlers, regional and state party insiders, political media representatives, all present. The entire GOPe political enterprise was participating in the RNC conference.  Within those discussions there were also multiple break-out sessions.

Within the most exclusive of those break-out sessions (invitation only) were the engineers, top-level lobbyists, K-Street and Wall Street financiers, the money people.   The GOPe road-map for the presidential race in 2016 was built.

Jeb Bush was the next-in-line.

The pedigreed.

If you’ve read the road-map, you know the rest.

Fast-Forward to South Carolina today – – –  Ted Cruz has won Iowa, Donald Trump has won New Hampshire, a contentious SC debate now in the rear view – – – the original road-map design a tattered construct thanks to Donald Trump.

However, the principles under the foundation of the road-map still remain.

The Old Guard (Romney, Bush Clans et al) have been backed up against the cliff, and their heels are hanging off…. Or so most think.   Personally, I believe that is a completely mistaken impression of the current state of the race.

Having watched, VERY CAREFULLY, the construct of these events since October 2013 (DC Congressional Leadership action), through the February Rules in ’14 (RNC National Leadership), and forward to the party-line approach (mid-terms ’14), and into the spring ’15 presidential candidate Tripwires, the original GOPe intent is still the most likely scenario.

Remember, RUBIO WAS A TRIPWIRE (predicted way back in 2014).  Why would a 44-year-old single-term, freshman senator, with no executive experience, no assets, no accumulated wealth, a family, a wife, four children, walk away from his job, take on a long-shot presidential bid with nothing but downsides – unless those constructing the bid had promised a golden parachute/safety net.  Those providing the security had a motive.

Those who hold the aforementioned motive, also hold the cards.  The party elite never enter into a win/lose scenario, or any scenario that has uncontrolled risk.  Their ‘plays’ are always various angles which provide security for their positioning – constructed as Win/Win.

Presidential Candidate, Senator Marco Rubio has NEVER been fully vetted.  The best interpretation of their angle is that the very top power structures within the GOPe, who also control and influence the larger corporate media empire, know they can take down young Rubio at any given moment.

With that in mind, if you remove the view of Rubio as a candidate and begin to reapply the concept of Rubio as a tool (original GOPe road-map), you recognize Rubio can be used to carve through political opposition, gain support – and at any particular moment that best fits the plan for Jeb, WHAMMO the dirt is dropped and with it any viable possibility of Marco as a candidate nominee.

Senator Rubio was never intended to be the ‘ends’; he was always the ‘means to the end’.

This scenario has always look to be the GOPe’s best play.

Think about Rubio and Jeb as two sides of the same GOPe coin.  Wall Street does the flipping, the coin toss per se’, but there is no-one adverse to the result.  Any primary win for either, is a win/win for both because the ultimate outcome is a win for the next-in-line Jeb Bush.

♦  Now to the endorsements.  Again, go back to the original road-map and cut through the media fog surrounding South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

Haley has done the bidding of the GOPe DC Machine (Ryan, McConnell, etc.) with the SOU response to knock down Donald Trump.   Republican party leadership approved the script.  Governor Haley also spoke highly of Marco Rubio in the 36 hours that followed the controversy.

Absent of GOPe intervention, a Rubio endorsement from her was/is all but certain.

♦ Cue Today –  The Old Guard (Bush clan) can leverage Haley’s political and financial future to support Jeb and remove the endorsement of Rubio.  However, the most affirmative way to achieve that is to expose her to the dirt on Rubio: “do you really want to be associated with this endorsement when (—- fill in the blank —-) comes out”?

I believe that conversation took place today.

Everything surrounding this week is layers of Machiavellian political maneuvering.  My hunch is Governor Nikki Haley will endorse Bush, that was the most prudent play as understood within original plan when we first outlined it years ago.

Your thoughts?