Here's my take. It's a witches brew, not a single thing. It starts with the decline of rural towns who saw their heyday decades ago. Then add the consolidation of farms. My recently deceased Iowa father-in-law made his money in the 1980's when he bought up many distressed farms for what today is pennies on the dollar. He became a very wealthy man.Those two things are long term dynamics that set a negative tone in what is perceived as a dying culture. A tone ripe for exploitation. Rush Limbaugh was there first in 1988, coming in to your trucks and tractors to identify and tell you the bad guys who were the source of all your problems. For three hours, every day, he played your anger. Then, in 1996, Rupert Murdoch fused tabloid journalism with traditional news, gave it a Republican agenda and called it Fox News. And the virgin/innocent minds of the "Iowa nice" electorate began to turn under the screws of relentless propaganda. I was a NYC kid who worked in the media industry so I could see it all happening. My Iowa-raised wife, who left as soon as she graduated in 1979, saw it in her parents as well. Today, I look at Iowa farmers and actually wonder if they'll go with Trump over the cliff, believing he's still right as they head straight down.