In case you’ve been missing things, it’s not just the libertarians saying this. There is a large contingent of libertarians, rather, that think the GOP worth defending.
But keep putting party over country and see where it gets us. The “win an election” rhetoric says it all. Lest any forgot, the Tea Party won the 2010 election, and abandoning the Tea Party lost the 2012 one.
2) I know it's not libertarians. It's me, too. But structurally we are a two party system in America. If you need to understand why that is, you can read the chapter in my "Seven Events" on how Martin Van Buren created the party structure. We can ONLY be a two-party structure. So, to replace the GOP (as the Whigs were replaced) you have to have an equally powerful force to step in. I'm all for the Tea Party being that force, but so far, it isn't there yet. And then, as soon as we elect "Tea Party" people---Rubio, Paul---half the people here think they are "RINOs." So it's a serious problem.