Tea party movement returns to Boston roots with Palin as the headliner; Brown skipping rally

Tea Party Express returns to its roots in Boston

BOSTON — The tea party movement is returning to the city from which its revolutionary spirit was born.

Sarah Palin is scheduled to headline a final rally in Boston on Wednesday before the activists’ cross-country tour culminates in Washington on Tax Day.

A crowd of up to 10,000 was expected for Boston Common, just across town from Boston Harbor, where the original Tea Party occurred in 1773.

Colonists then were upset about British taxation without government representation.

Some 237 years later, their target is the Obama administration, government spending and the recent federal health care overhaul.

Among those skipping the rally was Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown.

Officially, Brown’s staff says he’s too busy with his congressional duties, but analysts say he’s concerned about being aligned with the tea party’s more radical elements.