I live in a small town as well and I agree completely that the whole "needing somebody to look down on" thing is big here. I mean it's big in general but it's worse in small towns. My best guess is that while they were younger they were seen highly among the small town and didn't see much beyond said town. Once they get older and turn on the news they realize they are an insignificant nobody and they don't like it. When you grow up in a small town you just tend to remain sheltered for longer and it really screws a person up.
Yes, sorta like the Al Bundy types, whose greatest moment of their lives was when they caught the winning pass in high school, or else who always talk about their days in the service…. as though nuthin' else in life ever improved after that. And BTW, it's probably all the more reason to depend on the sorta media like cable, talk radio, and the interwebs, that not only "validates" their POV, but also keeps creating these hated "out groups" to feel 'superior' to (blacks, gays, atheists, 'illegals', edumacated elites, etc.).