The Libertarian Party is one that has the most potential for growth and influence, and yet consistent ridiculousness by its leaders keep it at the back of the pack where it doesn’t belong.

Voters — mainly millennials at a staggering 71 percent — would be willing to drop the current duopoly in order to include a third party. This was first seen during the 2016 elections when voter fled their parties due to highly unpopular candidates for a different option. While some left the Democratic party after its betrayal of Bernie Sanders for the Green Party, the vast majority made their way to the Libertarians, which grew by leaps and bounds.

With Trump still a pretty unlikable guy and the Democrats without a leader, the Libertarian party is one that could put forth a solid message that many could get behind. That’s the message of “put us in charge, and we’ll leave you alone.” With an America that is becoming more and more individualistic, the Libertarian party is set up for future success.

And yet it can’t seem to stop doing ridiculous stuff.

Reason reported on Wednesday that Larry Sharpe, one of the more serious Libertarian candidates — he came second in the race for 2016 VP — recently resigned from his post as an alternate representative for region 8 on the Libertarian National Committee, and for good reason.

Sharpe couldn’t stomach the vice-Chair of the LNC Arvin Vohra, who recently posted on Facebook that an adult having sex with a 14-year-old isn’t the state’s business, and that those engaged in military service should be seen as immoral killers. This is, of course ridiculous tripe, and any person with a hint of reason could find very solid arguments against both of these stances.

However, Sharpe didn’t want Vohra kicked out of the party for these ridiculous views. He’s more than welcome to have them, and libertarians are not in the business of thought policing. What he did want was to see him taken down from his position so that someone with a little more sense could help lead the party into the future.

And the Libertarian Party voted no.

Sharpe’s resignation letter put it perfectly, and it should be taken as a dire warning for how many in America would react to such lunacy being put at the head of the party.

“The recent reaction from the LNC,” Sharpe wrote, “has clarified for me that Arvin does fit on the LNC. Clearly, the one who does not belong is me.”

Poignant, but on point. Vohra maintains his position despite his ludicrous takes on military service sexual relationships with minors, continuing a long, sad history of the Libertarian party shooting itself squarely in the foot.

The Libertarian party believes in minimal government, lower taxes, spending cuts for days, eliminating superfluous laws, and letting the local people decide what is best, not some bureaucrats in a far away town. One thing the Libertarian party is not is a group of anarchists. We believe that there are some laws that are indeed necessary. This includes laws that deems sex with minors a crime. We also believe in a defensive military that will rise up to defend us all should we ever fall under attack. At no point should those who sign up for the military be looked down on as horrible people. They are, in many respects, the best among us.

Vohra is a self-described anarchist who does not hold to these positions, and yet he’s vice-Chair of the LNC. Why?

While I myself identify as a libertarian, if the Libertarian party concludes that Vohra is a solid choice for party leadership then I, and people like myself, are going to have trouble putting our faith in it. For those not yet identifying themselves as libertarians, sentiments like this may cause them to walk away quickly.

I want the Libertarian party to succeed, but I also want it to be a serious party that can solidly contend on the national stage. If anarchists want to be a part of the Libertarian party, then that’s fine, but the Libertarian party’s leadership should consist of those who believe in its own platform. This would pave the way for new members who want more individualism and less government oversight, and thus usher in a new Libertarian age.