The original Boston Tea Party in 1773 was a protest about taxation without representation.
Today’s rally on the Boston Common, says Christen Varley, President of the Greater Boston Tea Party, is about “Taxation with bad representation.”
The Holliston, Massachusetts mother says the Greater Boston group boasts five chapters with 1,800 local members and more are joining everyday. Varley says today’s event on the city’s historic common, once used as a camp by British troops, could draw up to 10,000 people.
“It’s almost like a vaudeville type show,” said Varley.
There will be patriotic music, food and speakers. Sarah Palin, the former Alaska Governor and Fox News contributor, is headlining the event and is slated to speak at 10:40am.
“This is about reaching as many people as possible,” Varley said. She says the movement is a battle against big government and too many taxes. In the midst of a struggling economy she’s critical of elected officials she believes are not doing enough. “We elected these guys and gals and they’re not doing what we elected them to do.”
While Tea Party support and advertising is credited with helping Scott Brown secure the U.S. Senate seat once held by Ted Kennedy, the newly minted senator will not be attending.
Senator Brown officially claims to be busy with his new job on Capitol Hill but political strategists say he must be wary of appearing too closely affiliated with groups that could damage his 2012 re-election bid.
Many of those attending today’s rally are not miffed by his absence. They say he still has a lot to prove to Massachusetts’ voters and understand if he doesn’t want to rock the boat.
“Seeing as he’s the first Republican in decades I see how he would not want to tip his hat to a polarizing figure,” said Will Grapentine of Bristol, Rhode Island. “I came because until recently with Scott Brown’s election New England has not been ready for a sea-change and to have a big figure like Sarah Palin here, that gives it legitimacy. It gives credence to how New England is ready for a new ways of thinking in government.”
The nationwide Tea Party Express tour wraps up tomorrow in Washington, D.C. with a Tax Day Tea Party rally from 7p.m. to 9:30p.m. at the Washington monument.