Same reason the Green party does not win.....they does not get enough votes and are to niche. The Libertarian party is usually used as a protest vote if the person does not like the Rep and the Green a protest if the person does not like the Dem.
But there is the thing about Libertarians... They often caucus with the GOP and I find that odd because they have as much to detest about them as they do about eh Democrats.
As Bill Clinton so smartly put it, "It's the economy, Stupid!" People tend to vote their pocket book and Lib are no exception.
They simply caucus with the Rep because they favor lower taxes and lower spending. (I know many R only talk the talk) And put that above the social issues. Putting the economy ahead of those.
What M2C said. However, I will add that we've become even more polarized, so I think it's even less likely that anyone outside the main two parties will win for quite some time. I think that independents and green party members have a shot in Cali- I haven't looked... there may be some in office there already, but it'll catch on there first with them, is my guess. Following that, we may see strong candidates from other parties slide into office in other parts of the country.
Oddly enough I agree with you both. LOL Here in New Hampshire, The Libertarian Party is actually on the ballot and one can register as such. The Green PArty has not garnered enough signatures to make that happen which is odd for this state.
Libertarians may have any political view from ultra conservative to Anarchistic. in practice it is a meaningless label. I knew a guy loud about how Libertarian he was, I dug a bit and it turned out he was a Robert E Heinlein fan, and thought Heinleins books were it.
Because Libertarianism is not so much a political position as it is a philosophical approach to ethics and living. Libertarianism upholds the freedom to think, speak, act and live as one wishes so long as it does not impede the equal freedom of others to the same (see the founder of the idea John Stuart Mills, "On Liberty"). This means that someone who is a small-l libertarian could hold a wide and unpredictable range of opinions on different issues. and this makes it nearly impossible for Libertarianism to represent one fixed political position. In political terms, Libertarians seek to legislate for optimal political autonomy, emphasizing freedom of choice, voluntary association, and individual judgment. In practise, it takes many forms. Republicans are libertarians when they support competition in a free market economy, freedom of speech, and so on. Democrats are libertarians when they support legislation that prevents or minimises one group of people causing harm to any other - say by enacting laws against incitement to race crimes, paying wages below a livable standard, or perhaps unaffordable fees for medicine or education. Some libertarians are now forming new parties to help deal with global warming at the political level.
my2cents 