Four of Georgia's 13 congressmen joined the decidedly hushed chorus of "nays" opposing the last-minute House resolution that staved off a government shutdown just hours before the Friday night deadline.
They were among a cadre of strange bedfellows, representing both ends of the political spectrum.
Republicans Paul Broun, of Athens, and Tom Graves, of Ranger, were in the contingent -- also including national tea party favorite Michelle Bachman (R-Minn.) -- that rejected the compromise for failing to cut enough from the $3.5 trillion federal budget.
"One must ask ... if we can't cut $61 billion today, how are going to cut the necessary trillions of dollars tomorrow?" Graves said via email, pointing to the amount the GOP-led House slashed in a budget bill passed earlier this year. (The deal struck Friday night would cut about $39 billion.)
Democrats John Lewis, of Atlanta, and Hank Johnson, of Lithonia, stood with the group -- also including Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Jess Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) -- that felt the cuts, especially those aimed at the nation's social safety net, went too deep.
"My vote was a protest vote," Lewis told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a phone interview Saturday. "I didn't like all the proposed cuts that are coming up."
In the end, neither camp made much of a dent, as the House voted 348-70 to accept the deal struck between Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and the White House.
So why did 70 House representatives of strikingly different political stripes -- 28 Republicans and 42 Democrats -- stand up against a bill that sought to avert a federal shutdown while cutting $39 billion in spending?
"It is the extremes that were opposed to this," University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Saturday, suggesting that the "moderate" Democrats and Republicans won the day. "The middle path is that we cut (the budget) in some ways, but we don't impose as much pain as might have been imposed."
Among their ranks was Austin Scott, a conservative freshman from Georgia's 8th district and president of the 87-member House freshman class. According to published accounts, Scott was among the rank-and-file Republicans Boehner turned to for validation Friday night in a closed-door meeting before finalizing the agreement that he had forged President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)
Although the national media frequently cast the freshmen, many of whom won their seats with the help of the tea party, as intransigent and a threat to Boehner's desire to avert a shutdown, the National Journal portrayed Scott as a willing supporter of the final compromise. According to the magazine, Scott told Boehner: "I trust you and I'll support you on whatever deal you bring us."
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