Keep in mind that the Republican party started as a third party, striking at just the right time. Rare is it for a third party to fare so well in American politics--we've pretty much been a two-party system since the beginning--but they represent the biggest exception to that rule.
Flash forward to the future, where we see that same Republican party having long left its noble ideas in the dust, and its Democratic counterpart serving as its lone--and allegedly ineffective--counterpart. The field is ripe, it seems; the question, now, is how to introduce a third party.
The way I see it, it has to be done one step, one level at a time. Instead of attempting to introduce themselves wholesale, or straight into the presidential election, the Libertarians should market themselves into a few select Congressional races where they have a real shot at actually winning some seats. Once they get some representatives into Congress, expand their base, and go for the next step: the Senate. Finally, go for the grand prize: the presidency. This could take as many as 20 years or as few as four, but I think, I personally think there's a shot it would work. Not to guarantee its success, but I believe it can happen.
Other parties, are you taking notes?
