Last Thursday wasn’t a very good day for Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. Not at all.

Firstly, he found out that Al Quie, the TheoCon Republican who managed to luck into a four-year term as governor before scaring Minnesotans back into the arms of Rudy Perpich, had joined former Republican gubernatorial hopeful Doug Kelley in endorsing this year’s Independence Party candidate (and until very recently longtime movement Republican), Tom Horner. This is a very big deal, as Quie’s the guy whose four years as governor convinced the hardcore Allen-Quist-type social-conservative nutbars that they were capable of winning statewide office (never mind that four years of Quie’s Berean League ways and straight-no-chaser TheoConning scared Minnesotans straight back into the arms of the DFL and Rudy Perpich). If it wasn’t for Al Quie, nutbars like Allen Quist and Tom Emmer never would have been considered even remotely viable as candidates. The current RPM leadership folk, in their effort to stem the tide of saner Republicans jumping ship for the Horner lifeboat, have been attacking the Republican Horner endorsees as “quislings” who deserve to burn in hell.

And now old Uncle Al, perhaps feeling a bit remorseful at what he helped do to his beloved Republican Party of Minnesota over the last few decades, has disowned his spiritual children and embraced Dave Durenberger’s former press secretary.

Emmer and his minders were still reeling from the effects of that thunderbolt when they found themselves dealing with the news that the Minnesota non-blogging media and the DFL both suddenly discovered what readers of Sally Jo Sorensen’s excellent Bluestem Prairie website have known for weeks now — that Tom Emmer, he who preaches fiscal prudence and living within one’s means to others, doesn’t exactly practice these things. Emmer’s seven mortgages in nine years on the same piece of property — which he almost lost to foreclosure at one point — show a somewhat different side of Mister Morals And Budget Scold:

In November, Coleman, Hull & Van Vliet, PLLP, on behalf of the State Bank of Loretto, holders of Emmer’s mortgage, issued a Notice of Pendency of Proceeding to Foreclosure Mortgage on the property. (Wright County Property Records, Document 988266)

Disaster was headed off on January 5, 2006 when Emmer obtained a new mortgage on the property from First Commercial Bank. The new mortgage allowed him to satisfy his mortgage with State Bank of Loretto, and foreclosure proceedings ceased. The January 2006 mortgage was a $250,000, 5-year home equity credit line with an adjustable rate. (Wright County Property Records, Document 996296, 999699)

(Turns out he’s not the only Wright County Emmer with chronic money troubles. But I digress.)

The social and religious conservatives that make up the assimilated Tea Party wing of the GOP have been the Democrats’ best friends this election cycle. Teabagger candidate Tom Emmer is yet another demonstration of this.