Last week, Congress passed bipartisan legislation to reopen the federal government and raise the debt ceiling, allowing thousands of government employees to return to work and avoiding a potentially catastrophic default on the national debt. But not everyone was on board.

“So who are the 144 members of the House of Representatives, all Republican, who voted earlier this week to continue the federal government shut down and cause the United States of America to default on its obligations?” asks fellow Dan Alpert, writing for Business Insider. “And who elected them to office?”

Here are the facts:

  • It is not news that an overwhelming number of the naysayers are from the South.  The Daily Kos published a piece on Friday, showing that over 56% of them are from the southern states, with the Midwest accounting for over 24%.  Only 28 of the no votes came from the West and Northeast. 

West: 20
Midwest: 35
Northeast: 8
South: 81

  • The 144 no-voting congressmen were elected (in 2012) by just under 25.5 million U.S. voters.
  • Those who elected this the 144 naysayers equal approximately 11.1% of all eligible voters in the U.S. and about 18.5% of all those who actually voted in the last congressional election.

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