Hard to fathom how Ken Mehlman, chairman of the Republican National Committee, somehow managed to overlook Rich Tarrant's Senate primary victory this week when he issued a statement congratulating Martha Rainville's House primary win.

Or that Tarrant would not get a mention in the invite for this Sunday's party fundraiser with Arizona Sen. John McCain. You'd think the $5.2 million that Tarrant has invested in trying to prevent Bernie Sanders from becoming a senator would at least earn him some Republican leadership love.

And here's yet another Tarrant snub. This summer, the state party put out a brochure trumpeting "Vermont's Reform Team." You could have picked one up at the Champlain Valley Fair if you had stopped by the GOP booth.

One the cover of the brochure are the smiling faces of Gov. Jim Douglas, Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, state Auditor Randy Brock, Rainville and Cheryl Moomey, the party's Secretary of State nominee. Inside are bios of these folks and an invitation to Vermonters to "join" the Reform Team. No where in the glossy brochure is there a mention or a photo of Tarrant.

The excuse for all of this, as it's always been, is that Tarrant has asked the national GOPers to "stay out" of the race. If we're to believe that, then why did Tarrant show up at a GOP unity event in Montpelier on Wednesday?

-- Sam Hemingway