“We have people calling into our office every day saying, ‘Please support the House bill,’ ” said Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee, referring to the bill that the House passed defunding the Affordable Care Act. “Well, I do,” he added, sounding exasperated. “Do I think this has been a constructive process? Not particularly.”…

Conservative Republicans who ordinarily find themselves aligned with Mr. Cruz say they found a certain absurdity in this kind of talk.

“I love their vigor and their spirit,” said Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, referring to the Republicans who have bucked the party leadership lately. “But to be told we’re not listening by somebody who does not listen is disconcerting.”…

“Every senator thinks that they’re the center of the universe, and now it is literally the case that a very decentralized community has a lot more say,” said Matt Kibbe, president of FreedomWorks. “We now have a seat at the table,” Mr. Kibbe added, taking stock of his detractors in the Senate. Voters, he said, “can choose their leaders based on who’s performing, and that very competitive, bottom-up atmosphere is really what they’re complaining about. They’re like the dinosaurs seeing the first icebergs floating by.”