Khairat El-Shater: The Presidential Candidate That The GOP Desperately Needs

American interests in Egypt suddenly became muddled on Saturday, thanks to the Muslim Brotherhood’s seemingly impromptu decision to field a candidate in the country’s upcoming May 23rd Presidential election. The Brotherhood, which originally stated that they would not seek the office of Egypt’s vacant Presidency, reneged on that promise due to their fears that the military junta currently in power is attempting to eradicate the revolutionary push for democracy. If…or, perhaps more appropriately, when the Muslim Brotherhood wins the Presidential election, they will have total control over all branches of Egypt’s government. Then, after years of being stymied under Hosni Mubarak’s regime, they will inevitably draw up and implement a constitution that is deeply rooted in the teachings of Islam and the Koran. Certainly, this will be a diplomatic nightmare for the United States and Israel, right?

Perhaps not.

 The Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate, Khairat El-Shater, is actually perceived to be more moderate than some of his Brotherhood compatriots and Presidential contenders. According to a New York Times report, U.S. government officials who met with Shater in recent months lauded his “moderation, business savvy and effectiveness.” They also view him as a more acceptable alternative to some of the other candidates, such as Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, a backwards thinking, radical jihadist whose beliefs align more closely with Al Qaeda chief and ex-Brotherhood member Ayman al-Zawahiri than they do with the Brotherhood’s current leadership.

In contrast, Khariat El-Shater is a multimillionaire businessman who has found great success in the financial world of the Middle East. His business endeavors range from being the co-founder of clothing and furniture stores, to serving as a board member at several Arabic banks. His economic savvy has also served the Muslim Brotherhood well. He is credited with raising millions of dollars for the organization, even while serving prison sentences for supposed sedition plots against Mubarak’s presidency. He has championed the need for free trade and market-based economies in the Middle East, and he has advocated the implementation of a religiously guided governmental system that will put Islam at the forefront of Egyptian politics.

Wait a minute…that political platform sounds awfully familiar. In fact, it sounds like it’s comprised of the political philosophies of the two major candidates left standing in the 2012 Republican Presidential Primaries. Mitt Romney, the uber-rich former Governor of Massachusetts, has emphasized the need for the federal government to enact strict laissez faire policies in relation to interference with the free market. His competitor, Rick Santorum, has been a staunch supporter of having Christian values and teachings guide governmental policies in the United States. Romney’s base of supporters is mainly comprised of fiscal conservatives and moderates, and Santorum’s base of supporters is mainly comprised social conservatives and evangelical Christians. This division has split the Republican Party in two and turned the primary process into a deeply divisive battle for the Presidential nomination.

My God…could El-Shater be running for President in the wrong country? Minus the whole Muslim thing, Khairat El-Shater is the perfect fusion of Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum. The Republican National Committee would probably love to forge an American birth certificate for him.

But in all seriousness, is there a better representative of Republican principles in the 21st century than the current leader of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood? El-Shater can attribute the bulk of his political success to making wise business and banking decisions, not through befriending intellectuals or government elitists such as Anwar Sadat and Gamal Nasser. And, like an etch-a-sketch, El-Shater can change positions and erase pledges at any time in order to benefit his political party. He’s already broken one promise, which was that he wouldn’t seek the office of the Egyptian Presidency in the first place. El-Shater’s conniving strategies could’ve easily been taken out of Karl Rove’s playbook.

El-Shater’s staunch religious beliefs would also be beneficial to the Republican Party…if he was a Christian. Perhaps after the RNC prints off his American birth certificate, they can consult the people who successfully wrote President Obama’s fake Christian back story, so that they can sell him to their evangelical base (note the sarcasm here). Like Santorum, El-Shater supports establishing a theocracy that would supposedly still adhere to democratic principles.They also share a low tolerance level for dissenting opinion, and secularism is their ultimate pariah. The philosophical resemblance is uncanny.

Now obviously, I’m joking about the whole “El-Shater/Rubio 2012” thing. However, I am trying to make a point about the similarities between ourselves and our enemies. The positions and values of the GOP do, in some areas, mirror those of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.

Maybe that shows how drastically the once civil and respectful landscape of American politics has shifted in recent years.

Maybe it shows that humanity flocks towards the esteem of wealth and dogmatic authority in all corners of the world.

Or maybe it just shows that we, along with the Egyptians, suck at picking competent and compassionate leaders.

I’m going to have to go with choice #3 on that one.