By: Guest ContributorNov. 2nd, 2009more from Guest Contributor

On Fox News’ America’s Newsroom program network VP Bill Sammon essentially kicked former NY Republican House candidate Dede Scozzafava out of the Republican Party today. Sammon claimed that because she supported the stimulus and is pro-choice, she is, “for all practical purposes a Democrat,” who is out of lockstep with the GOP.

Here is the video courtesy of Media Matters:

Sammon said, “She’s thrown her support to the Democrat instead of the Conservative Party. I think that is a great point. I think we are making too much of this as if she is a normal Republican, and this Conservative Party candidate is some sort of wild eyed right winger. In reality, she’s for all practical purposes a Democrat, when you look at her, you know she supported the stimulus. Virtually all of the Republican caucus was unified in opposing the stimulus, so she’s way out of lockstep there, where as the Conservative Party candidate Hoffman, he basically supports mainline Republican positions. He’s not some sort of wing nut crazy, so I think the press is overstating that as a real split on the right, whereas it’s a split basically between a Democrat and a Republican.”

For those who wish to still pretend that FNC not an arm of the Republican Party, I ask what other news network would have a vice president go on the air to smear a moderate Republican, while at the same time endorsing a right wing candidate? Sammon’s comments are not standard news network behavior.

The right isn’t happy with only pushing Scozzafava out of the race. They want her out of the Republican Party. If a politician is not in “lockstep” with the right wing agenda of the GOP, then they no longer are a Republican. This is not a split between a Democrat and a Republican.

It is the continuation of the far right’s takeover of the Republican Party. Ronald Reagan’s big tent GOP is dead. It has been replaced by a pup tent of narrow minded ideological zealots. The Republicans may win on Tuesday, but their gains will be short lived if they continue to shrink as a party.