McCarthy failed to secure the 218 votes needed to become speaker of the House. Boehner had taken unconventional route to speakership, as a conference and committee chairman, rather than whip. Future of GOP belonged to “young guns,” but a better metaphor now would be the three little pigs. Cantor’s house was blown away by a wolf who said he wasn’t loyal to Donald Trump. The second little pig was Paul Ryan, who built a sturdier house from Wisconsin limestone. McCarthy’s gift was his easy charm; no one would mistake him for a Mensa candidate.
