That Not-Caring-About-Being-Right Thing Predicted This

Republicans are looking for a way out in the face of polls that show the shutdown is hurting them more than Democrats, and of a president who appears prepared to endure not only the shutdown but also the chaos that is expected if the Treasury exhausts its statutory authority to borrow, if that is the cost of refusing to accede to the GOP's demands.

Whatever the specifics of the ultimate deal, it seems clear that ObamaCare won't be defunded or delayed, and even the individual mandate--the tax on people who don't have medical insurance--won't be affected. The only ObamaCare provision that may be repealed is the excise tax on medical devices, a foolish and destructive levy that is not, however, essential to ObamaCare's structure.

To put it more concisely, Ted Cruz lost.

...It's possible that the Cruz strategy will end up having maximized the damage done by ObamaCare, to the Democrats but also to the country.