One of the most surprising things...

...about this year's Republican race has been the disappointing turnout. In this era of tea party-fueled rage, wouldn't you expect Republicans to be showing up at the polls in record numbers? It's been reported that the only additional voters in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary this year were supporters of Ron Paul. Will they vote for the GOP nominee in November? Hard to say.

So what's going on here?

David Brooks may have the answer in his column in the Times today (my emphasis):

I was also struck, as in New Hampshire and Iowa, by the mood of this year’s rallies. Republican audiences this year want a restoration. America once had strong values, they believe, but we have gone astray. We’ve got to go back and rediscover what we had. Heads nod enthusiastically every time a candidate touches this theme.

I agree with the sentiment, but it makes for an incredibly backward-looking campaign. I sometimes wonder if the Republican Party has become the receding roar of white America as it pines for a way of life that will never return.

I once heard an analyst say that in today's America, with its current demographics, Ronald Reagan would have almost certainly lost to Jimmy Carter. Maybe Republicans are an endangered species.