They are just that different. I live in occupied country, MOCO MD, where politicians hunt for votes by bragging about how many baby skulls they can crush for that all important abortion voting block.
A few years ago some crackhead viciously murdered a Catholic priest near here. Gansler refused to go for the death penalty then. As soon as the sniper scum were captured, Gansler demanded immediately that MD be first in line for the trials. Thank goodness VA got to them first. I knew all along it was just posturing, Gansler can't convict.
That said, I hear the western parts of MD are closer in spirit to VA than to MOCO.
Western Md. or horse country is absolutely wonderful. Whereas Baltimore etc is a stopped up anal cavity.