Maryland Makes Showing at DNC

As we did last week with the , we're digging up items of local interest out of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC. We'll be updating this post with other items as the convention continues this week. Follow along with full coverage of the DNC on The Huffington Post.

O'Malley speaks tonight: Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley landed a primetime speaking slot: 10 p.m. Tuesday, when major networks will start broadcasting. The Baltimore Sun reports that the stage in Charlotte could be a launching pad for the 2016 presidential race. WBAL caught up with the governor on Monday.

Better off?: O'Malley may have gone a hair off message on Sunday's Face the Nation on CBS. Bob Schieffer asked if Americans were better off than they were four years ago. O'Malley answered: “No, but that’s not the question of this election. Without a doubt, we are not as well off as we were before George Bush brought us the Bush job losses, the Bush recessions, the Bush deficits, the series of desert wars, charged for the first time to credit cards — the national credit card."

Conservative bloggers and pundits quickly seized on the remarks.

The cheap seats: Maryland's delegation is seated toward a far back corner of the Time Warner Cable Arena, Maryland Reporter reports. But it was the first stop for Democratic National Committee chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who addressed the delegates in a breakfast meeting on Monday.

LGBT community looks to be heard: The Metro Weekly in Charlotte reports that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Charlotte wants to use this week's opportunity to speak to Maryland delegates. One lesbian-owned Irish pub, the paper reports, is hosting an afterparty for Maryland's delegation following President Barack Obama's speech on Thursday. Maryland's same-sex marriage law faces a referendum challenge on the ballot this fall.