Why do rural counties vote Republican?

I have studied the recent election results. Metropolitan results were mostly Democratic in Linn, Johnson, Scott, Dubuque and Story counties. Rural counties, overwhelmingly Republican.

I'm scratching my head, trying to figure this out - $5.50 a bushel corn, $12 for beans, fuel a dollar a gallon cheaper than under the Bush administration and a majority of Republicans in Congress wanting to cut farm subsidies. I can only come up with five reasons the rural area voted Republican:

1. Grandpa always voted Republican. I hope grandpa didn't jump off the windmill.

2. God and guns, strong issues in rural areas. The Republicans wave these flags every campaign and then put them away until the next election. I just think God and guns are strange bedfellows.

3. Was this a vote against the president? There are practically no African-Americans farming or living in rural communities. Is prejudice more rampant in rural areas than we like to believe?

4. Farming is more and more big business, with fewer small family farms. The Republican Party caters to big business, so we will be better off voting Republican.

5. We like the licking Republicans give us. So kick me again.

I guess the adage is true. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

James Kane

Cedar Rapids