Was a “better deal” negotiated after Cruz shut the Government down?
No, it wasn’t. So what purpose did it serve other than grandstanding?
Cruz told his constituents he would fight Obamacare, and he went to the Senate floor to do so. If Senate Republicans had backed him instead of most of them worrying about their next election, the Democrat Senate and Obama could’ve been hammered for what they are, the type to shut down war memorials and national parks but to keep government areas accessible to perverts who wanted to make speeches. As it was, they only got lightly tapped.
When a party is in the minority, filibustering is about all it has in a world of visuals-beat-substance. Cruz took a huge risk and now is even mocked by some conservatives because he wasn’t able to stop Obamacare through legislation.
I don’t ascribe to the philosophy of not winning means it wasn’t worth the fight.