TAMPA, Fla. — Maryland Republicans on Tuesday went after Gov. Martin O’Malley, a Democrat, for traveling to Tampa during the Republican National Convention to campaign for President Obama.

“If [O'Malley] wants to come to our convention, rather than nipping at Mitt Romney’s heals, my advice to the governor would be to listen hard, take a lot of notes as to how real leadership at the local, state, and federal level can get folks back to work and reset the economy — otherwise he’s just wasting his and everybody else’s time,” said Maryland Senate Minority Leader E.J. Pipkin, R-Eastern Shore, one of the state's convention delegates.

Pipkin ripped the governor after O’Malley made his first appearance in Tampa Tuesday morning at a press conference from the Democratic National Committee’s convention “war room” here.

In his remarks to reporters, O’Malley blasted Republicans as beholden to right-wing extremists and delivered a searing attack against the party’s presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, and Romney’s running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

“It’s stooping pretty low for an Obama surrogate to infiltrate the Republican National Convention to cast aspersions on Gov. Mitt Romney, our party’s nominee for the presidency,” said Maryland House Minority Leader Tony O’Donnell.

In a personal blow to the governor’s Celtic rock band, “O’Malley’s March,” Pipkin jeered: “Gov. O’Malley should stick to playing the guitar as he plans to do next week at the Democratic National Convention, rather than come to Tampa to crash our Republican Party.”