RNC plans rally to mark Boston Tea Party anniversary

The Republican National Committee (RNC) will host today what may amount as the ultimate "tea party."

The RNC will hold a "rally" in the lobby of its Capitol Hill headquarters at noon today, commemorating the 236th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.

Conservative activists have been holding "tea party" rallies throughout the country this year in opposition to President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats.

The movement's name, to which a number of claims of authorship have been made, is an explicit allusion to the Boston Tea Party, the 1773 protests by American colonists against taxies levied on tea by the British government.

The official GOP has embraced the tea party movement to various degrees, though conservative activists and media personalities have long promoted the crowd.

The purpose of today's rally, according to the RNC, is "to encourage Democrats to listen to the American people and stop health care and focus on the economy."