[Austin Willard Wright]

The LP will probably not go away as long as the Republican party keeps giving it openings by shifting to the left through its support of a big government agenda including its embrace of the Departments of Education and Energy, support for agriculure and transporation budget busting plans, support for socialization of prescription drugs, etc. Unfortunately, conservatives have completely dropped the ball on the fight against big government....so the LP moves to fill in the gap on the political spectrum.

As to vote totals, you might be right....but people have been saying this for thirty years. Please note that the LP has more elected officials than ever before and won 10 percent of the vote in highly liberal Wisconsin for governor. The upshot is that the problem arises from conservative abandonment of their principles. Unfortunately, conservatives are not self-critical enough to realize this.

[Moby Grape]

Conservatives are plenty self critical, FAR more so than the monolithic democrat party...the problem the LP faces is that conservative republicans are NOT about to join up with the LP...NO WAY...and the LP, as it shows itself ever more to be a party of kooks, and self-serving self-righteous anti-republicans, will find that it is the stuff of parody, and not the new home of conservatism. It is fringe, and will remain so, REGARDLESS of what happens in the GOP. Your critique of the GOP is over the top, like so much of the hyperbole from the LP. The GOP is NOT conservative enough, has far too many so-called moderates, BUT, the conservatives, even if unhappy, are NOT going to the LP. The LP serves to pull those 1-2% unhappy GOP voters who are just enough in some races to elect the democrats.