The findings, which set Twitter ablaze when they were published Thursday evening, painted a dismal picture for the state of the GOP: Americans blamed Republicans for the government shutdown by a 22-point margin, and the party’s favorability rating had sunk to the lowest level in the history of the poll. As the crisis wore on Friday — with frenzied Republican leadership working to find a face-saving way out — reporters descended on the conference in Washington to find out what conservative activists thought now of the mess they’d created for their party.

The answer: They don’t particularly care.

Asked whether he was concerned that the shutdown fight would do lasting damage to the public perception of the GOP, conference attendee Edward Bartlett shrugged. He said he was a fan of Sen. Ted Cruz, and admired the Tea Party hero’s unwavering push to defund Obamacare. If his principled stand hurts the establishment GOP, so be it.

“I consider myself more of a conservative than… a straight Republican,” said Bartlett.