Republicans reassess after shutdown debacle

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks at a conservative rally at the World War II Memorial in Washington on Sunday.

The GOP establishment has embarked, once again, on a round of soul-searching. But this time, the question is: What will it take to save the Republicans from the self-destructive impulses of the tea party movement?

That the government shutdown was a political disaster for the party that engineered it is widely acknowledged, except by the most ardent tea partiers.