text: Yes, exactly.  Provincialism and xenophobia most certainly out influenced any economic issue except perhaps in certain rust belt pockets.  
  
  It's time rural Americans also extended some understanding to the rest of America, especially Americans on both coasts who actually pay for the services the red states get from the Feds.  It's no accident that all the net taker States in terms of Fed dollars are all red.  A small thank you note from all those red states to all those blue states from all those big hearted rural folks would be a nice gesture.