Even a Libertarian might admit that his party isn't exactly mainstream. Yet. Then again, once upon a time the Republican Party wasn't mainstream, either. Think 1844 and Henry Clay. Or 1996 and Bob Dole. (Kidding!)
Parties come and go. They switch sides. They re-invent themselves, disappear, reappear, and change geographic bases. On this, you should trust the unreliably conservative newspaper editorial in a paper called the Democrat-Gazette.
Some ideas the Libertarians float are indeed strange, not to mention unworkable. But they give voters a choice, just as the Green Party does on occasion. How many conservatives, uncomfortable with the liberal and the populist in the last presidential election, voted Libertarian--because its candidate was the only conservative in the race? Answer: 4.5 million Americans.
