I smell a lot of emails like this one coming:
i’m all in favor of steele and all, but on what possible basis can you say MD is “the south”.
maryland not only was not a confederate state, it was not even “close” like MO and KY.
http://www.confederatemilitaryhistory.com/reference/states/
generally, however, really like your stuff
Me: Well, I was going by the Census bureau designation (note: I used to be a Census data troll when I was at AEI). There are of course many “souths” — the Deep South, the Old South, the Confederate South etc etc. And, if you want to use those definitions that’s fine. But then Harold Ford’s Tennessee may be in trouble too. When I went to school in Baltimore, it was often pointed out to me that we were below the Mason Dixon line, which always sounded pretty southern to me.