The US Capitol is reflected in glass on Monday. Tom Brenner/Getty Images

The longest shutdown in American history appears headed for a conclusion, after eight moderate-leaning members of the Senate Democratic Caucus broke ranks to cut a deal with Republicans on Sunday.

Much has yet to play out and votes still need to be held. But it looks as though enough Democrats have given up on demanding an extension of the enhanced Obamacare tax credits and have accepted much more modest concessions.

So how did this happen? What did we learn? And where do we go from here?

Here are some takeaways from the politics of it.

1. Democrats caved, full stop

The Democratic Party isn’t leaving this process with nothing. They got a couple of significant concessions.

One is a commitment to hold a Se

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