I am white, in my 50s, have money, live in a rural area and own guns. Why should I vote for repubs?
I'm not sure why you included any of those variables in your question, because none of them have a single thing to do with how a true conservative thinks they should personally vote.
To be conservative means you are stuck voting for republicans.
To be conservative, your voting patters aren't self-centered. A conservative doesn't vote for "his own best interests" as his primary consideration. Right, wrong, liberty and individual freedoms are what matter. i doubt anyone here is interested in convincing you of anything regarding your voting patterns. i know i'm not. Your own values are why you vote a certain way, not because you own a gun or have a big balance in your checking and cert accounts.
For example, I support the 2A because I think everyone should be able to make the choice to defend themselves, and those capable have a DUTY to do it... it has little to do with ME wanting to own guns.. that's only a secondary consideration. We keep guns primarily to shoot and kill any sonofabitch who tries to take them from us... and we aren't scared to say it out loud either. This is why the 2A was written, that is it's primary purpose... to tell any government that this is a God given right that they are absolutely prohibited from interfering with, ever. This is about the rights we are born with, we aren't the slightest bit interested in asking government for permission to be free, but we will openly dare them to try and take it, and we aren't kidding around either.
i don't vote republican because i'm what I would consider moderately well off, i vote republican because i don't believe in robbing people of their personal property and dividing it up among others; normal people call that stealing. And no, i'm not going to fall into the "but what about fire and police" argument with anyone either. Conservatives are more than willing to pool money with others for infrastructure and basic services... but most certainly not for commodities such as health insurance. Anyone with an ounce of intellectual integrity and honesty knows full well what the general lines are here.
I vote republican because i only believe in equal OPPORTUNITY, and that's where equal should end from the perspective of government. Government is built, designed, and executed by humans, and humans are incapable of non-bias operation. Allowing any faction (be it right or left) to design the rules regarding who wins or loses is a dangerous condition that will ultimately lead to unchallenged fascism; it is without question, and has proved true without exception throughout history. We should simply leave the door open, and never stick our foot out and try to trip honest people. From there on, your skills, motivations and convictions guide you to your successes, or lack thereof. We will never agree to subsidize success, and most certainly never by class or race. Race is a fascination and obsession of the left that few conservatives have any interest in whatsoever. ALL people should be allowed equal opportunity, and anyone who purposefully stands in an innocent persons path is an enemy of conservatism.
i wont say no one cares how you vote, all i'll say is that if your basic ideology includes infringing on the God given rights of another American, even a single one, then we wont agree on much of anything else, and you'll never change that vote anyway.
And THAT is why I, personally, am conservative and am stuck voting for republicans, and I'm pretty sure you will agree with none of that in real action... such as voting for a republican.