North Potomac Tea Party Leader Aims For Political Success, Broader Representation

As the leader of a group in Montgomery County that is associated with the tea party movement, the first question Dan Grossberg usually gets asked is, “What do you think of Sarah Palin?”

For the record, his views on the former Alaskan governor and current superstar of the tea party movement: “She’s not the buffoon that people have painted her out to be. I don’t know if she’s up to the job of president. But she has a track record as a government executive unlike some other people we have elected recently,” he told Patch.

But Grossberg, a North Potomac resident who leads the Montgomery County chapter of Americans for Prosperity, is eager to move local discussions past the national stereotypes of the tea party movement and to mobilize his neighbors to get involved in local politics.

“We’re just free-market, pro-business, and it’s not even pro-business at the expense of people. Montgomery County ... is almost violent in the way it treats businesses. We don’t do anything to welcome them, and that’s wrong,” Grossberg said. "Our taxes here in Montgomery County are unsustainable and not business friendly. The first thing they have to do is stop spending money. Spend less money."

Grossberg argues that privatizing many services currently operated by local or state governments, such as liquor stores, road construction and school ground maintenance, would help solve the county's budget problems.

"Look at our roads. It’s atrocious. We happen to be a fairly affluent location, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by driving down Quince Orchard Road. There are cracks and weeds growing through the asphalt," Grossberg said.

"The county feels that they need to do all the maintenance. They could privatize that and bring in 20 contractors. They could bid competitively for the work, they could fight to do it the best. The job needs to be done. Right now, we are paying for it to be done, and it’s not being done."

Founded in 2004 by wealthy businessmen brothers David and Charles Koch as a 501(c)4 political advocacy group, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) has been a frequent sponsor of tea party rallies nationally. The Maryland chapter, one of the 31 state chapters, was formed in February 2009. Grossberg became active in forming the Montgomery County group in the fall of 2009.

A CPA, IT manager and father of three, Grossberg said he was never active in politics before 2009. But an editorial he read during the health care debate sparked his interest.

“I read an editorial that had some reference back to the AFP website, and I was intrigued, just because it was all about personal responsibility, small and more transparent government and the free market,” Grossberg said. “It was at the time of the health care debate, I said you know what, I can’t hand over this country the way it is to the kids and look them in the eye and say I’ve done my best.”

Grossberg joined tea party activists from all over the country in late 2009 as Congress neared passage of its health care reform legislation. In April 2010, he helped organize a tax day tea party rally in Rockville.

Reports of homegenous crowds and racist signs have dominated coverage of tea party rallies nationally. Grossberg said the reality is very different.

“Tea party people are very nice, fun-loving, community-oriented people, period. Some of them got dressed up funny; some of them wore funny hats. It’s more a chance to get together to celebrate the fact that we’re here,” he said.

But he said the reporting of these events has made it difficult for him to recruit new members.

“A lot of people are guided by things that they see on the news, and that could lead you to be very intimidated. If I was black and I was invited to an event that I knew to be associated with tea party people and I was relying on what I read in the Washington Post or what I saw on CNN, I might not be that interested in what they had to say. Unless it was something that really moved me," he said.

"There’s very little that’s as mundane about budgets and accountability, so you really have to be motivated to go in a place where you’re not wanted.”

That’s why this year, Grossberg said his group is focused on education. He meets with his group once a month at Robert Frost Middle School and sends out emails to a list of more than 3,000, he said.

The group scored its first political success during this year's General Assembly session: the defeat of the gas tax. The AFP Maryland blog credits the emails and calls from activists for helping defeat the bill.

In addition to more political successes, Grossberg said the volunteer-run group aims to raise $50,000 for local causes. This spring, he said they plan to hold a fundraising dinner dance for volunteer firefighters. They also would like to increase diversity in their organization in age, race and politics.

"We hope that our programming will bring in more people," he said. "For better or for worse, the way our county is being run today I don’t see a day when we are not needed anymore, sadly. I long for the day when our group is no longer necessary. But we’re fighting big government and waste."