AS SILLY and pep-rallyish as some of the anti-tax "Tea Parties" seemed, there's news from Rhode Island of a passionate anti-tax protest actually, you know, working. At a townhall meeting in Woonsocket, dozens of residents and business owners expressed anger and frustration over a supplemental tax hike. At the end of a nearly six-hour debate, the city council voted down the measure.

This story has a man-bites-dog quality—a town showing up at a townhall! It's like an episode of Gilmore Girls. But it really shouldn't be. The only point of online activism is taking it offline. This is why the Republican craze for Twitter only makes sense when Republicans promote some kind of political action. It makes less sense when they tell their friends to watch them on TV.